Behind the Smile
by Dumbtrickerita
Summary: She felt it all drifting away. She saw no more of her past, no more of her present. There was only that one whisper of a promise - the fluttering of wings - a hope only identified by the future. Just one word. One person.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Hello after watching a few episodes and reading a few fanfics, i was inspired with this story! This is just a prologue to get the story started, basically describing the night Sasuke left Konoha. So it's a totally skippable prologue.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Prologue: What I Need**

(o)

(o)

(o)

**_Take only what you need._**

His deep, emotionless obsidian eyes transitioned to gaze upon the picture frame idly standing on his glossy wooden dresser. It's vivid, lively colors acted as a counterbalance to the white, plain, bleak colors of his near empty, spacious room. The glass protecting the picture beneath seemed to gleam with the glare of the cratered moon, it's rays of moonlight peaking in through the wide, un-curtained window behind him.

It held a picture of Team seven.

Kakashi, their enigmatic sensei, was standing behind his three students, each hand positioned on the heads of Sasuke and Naruto. As always, his face was partly covered by the added aticle of his uniform, though it did nothing to hide nor hinder warm smile that outlined on the surface. His eyes were closed with glee, his spiky, silver-colored hair shining with a glimmer.

Uzumaki Naruto's blonde hair, spiked and tumbled everywhere due to the hand smothering it. He still had on a cheery, chump-like smile, his deep cerulean eyes twinkling with excitement as he outstretched his hand with a thumbs-up towards the camera.

His thoughts deepened as he gazed at the shinobi who had become like a brother to him, his best friend. He wasn't as prideful to deny it, not now, not anymore. He had always detested it, how the same cheery attribute had almost always stayed intact throughout the years - that strong perserverance, unbending will and determination, even through all and every kind of hardship, tragedy. He had never met anyone who was more courageous than the village-acclaimed number one loudest shinobi. He had never met anyone in their generation that was even stronger than him, in every single way, and it was that alone that was insanely frustrating. Right now, as he was, Naruto was stronger than him. He had always wondered why, and he had always wondered how.

But one thing that was apparent, concrete, known, was that it would not remain that way for long.

Still gaze had found himself in the picture; his arms were crossed over his torso as a frown founded his face - it seemed to have been a result of the unexpected hand smothering his head. His eyes , however, even as they harbored an annoyance, gleamed with amusement, one rarely seen.

The days used to be so simple. He had thought that he had found a position in his life where he could be sane, where he could find that small bit of happiness that had consantly avoided him. And he had been wrong. The call for power, for vengeance had begun to gnaw at him like a starving, insatiable hunger. And he could no longer continue to play house with the people who had created a home for him.

He had chosen to focus on her last.

Inbetween he and Naruto she stood, Haruno Sakura, her pink hair both unusual and unmistakable; a bright smile, ear to ear, decorated her porcelain-like face. Her beautifully large, emerald gaze sparkled with joy, with happiness. He hadn't seen her like that, for a long time now. It seemed to come from her growing knowledge, growing awareness that home she sought to offer him, to offer everybody wasn't enough - he knew with each passing day how she grew more depressed at sight of their peaceful worlds collapsing. There were those days where she seemed completley lost. She would argue with that, saying that she smiled everyday; and, she did, but, not like that, not like this, not anymore. There would be nothing in her smile but true happiness, glee. All of the qualities of her appearance would become lively prominent, leaving nothing he could find to criticize without lying.

Now, there would be nothing in her smile, nothing at all. And everything, behind it. Her smiles were no longer of joy, but of masking; it was behind that smile, behind her smile, where all her harbored, hidden emotions lie. Her pain, her own suffering, sadness. Behind everybody's.

How did he know?

How could he not? He spent nearly everyday with this teammate of his. Learned her habits, learned her reactions, learned her thought process. It didn't mean anything that he knew these things, it didn't imply that he cared. Just that he, as well as Naruto, knew her well enough to see when she was unhappy, when she was hiding something, when she was planning action. Naruto was further along in figuring her out than him, knowing exactly what type of punch she would use and with what force upon striking him, mostly likely because he had seen her wrath on more than once action, and grown accostumed to it. They all had. It was those little quirks that made her, Sakura.

The strongest kunoichi he knew. Maybe not when it came to show of physical strength, or jutstu prowess, but, control, will, pain tolerance, perseverance. And most of all, emotional control, stability. He should know, with the number of times he continously took blows to her emotions with his natural tedencies to shoot down her aspirations. He had no desire to even begin to count the number of times he had let her down, however, he knew that he didn't want it to happen anymore, at the same time that he knew it would.

The image of her hopeful, yet rejectiong-assuming gaze looking up at him seemed to be imprinted in his mind forever. As well as the brief moment when here eyes would shimmer with tears, only for her quick, retaliating smile to appear instantly. He would always remember the way her dismissal of her own emotions would make him feel. And he hated it.

A ninja was taught at a young age to keep a reign on their emotions, to hide, control their feelings. Because they were unnecesary, because as tools, they only needed to know how to fight, to protect. They were to show no emotion in any situation. It was a rule, a code. And Sakura abided by it well.

And maybe it was because of the growing knowledge and acceptance of the code that things had been different. They used to be traveling the same path, once, in a time that was past. Now, everything had changed. She had changed, Naruto had changed, he had changed. Everyone around them had changed, times had changed. They couldn't waste anymore time dilly dallying in the safe haven of ignorance.

He couldn't waste anymore time staying where he didn't belong, where he couldn't grow, where he couldn't completle his life's goals, free himself.

With a small, barely discernible release of breath, the Uchiha lowered the picture frame to rest, face down on the dresser before he casually moved to his bed, swinging the small pack to his backside; he then traveled to his opened window- he placed a foot up on the seal, the same leg bending in preparation for the leap. He took one last glance at the room behind him before jumping out of the window, and into the darkness of the night.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The stillness of the night was quite unusual as the only occasional sound was the rustling of the trees as the slight breeze would pick up, only to fall once more. The rays from the moon splayed over the cobble-stoned road, splashed against her porecelain-like skin - producing a slight translucent look to her; the same moonlight pronounced her glossed over, dull, emerald gaze, downcast in its fixation.

She sat on the same, old concrete bench, no movement shifting her in any way, no thought prevailing her mind. The serene, stoic way she held herself in that moment, the way her face seemed peaceful, would have fooled all who would pass, tricked them to the deep turmoil coursing throughout everything that she was, gnawing at her insides.

Bated fear. Feared Isolation. Expected endings. Prepared goodbyes.

Heartbreak.

_**Loneliness…**_

Is that what they called it…? What he called it…?

Her emerald gaze transitioned upwards towards the star-filled night sky, focusing on the full moon that seemed ever prominent amidst the stars, even while a few clouds slowly scuttered across its surface.

Her movement wasn't sudden, instead casual, slow as she let her gaze drop back down and move slightly to look a small distance at her side; she focused of the form of the raven-haired boy traveling towards her, hands sheltered in his pockets. He looked as if he were taking a stroll - his steps slow, calm. Her eyes also discovered the small bad mounted on his back, as if it was expected - there was no apparent change in her morbid gaze. It was only when he neared closer did she slowly stand up, slightly moving away from the concrete bench she had been occupying. She did nothing to hide the saddened look in her emerald eyes, however everything to keep her entire countenance calm.

Sasuke did not bring his gaze to glance at her, his obsidian orbs were focused ahead, to the path in front of him, forward, where his goals lie. He continued his casual steps, walking past her, ignoring the wave of despair that radiated from her calmly held countenance. When he was distanced a few paces ahead of her, he halted, leaving his back - neatly decorated with the Uchiha clan symbol, to face her.

He had expected this. He had expected not being able to leave without a goodbye.

"It's late."He started, voice flat. "Why are you out?" His inquiry was as impassive, demanding, even as he knew the answer.

She hadn't turned around to look at her, her back faced him just as his did her. She kept herself together, her strong gaze focused ahead of her. It was as if he was looking towards the future, while she continued to look towards the past. None were willing to stay in the time that was present, the times where things had become so wrong.

"If you follow this road.." She started, his voice calm, strong. "..it leads outside of Konoha…" She still didn't turn to look at the Uchiha, daring him to answer to question, knowing he would not. "Are you leaving?" Her inquiry was soft, near emotionless, even as the first wetness started to shine her eyes, making the reflection of the night moon flicker, as if trapped in her gaze.

She had expected this, knew he would try to leave quietly. Leave without saying goodbye. She didn't expect him to tell her why, because they both knew she already knew the answer. She was tired of playing house as well.

"You should go back to sleep." He suggested this flat command, saying it without knowing she hadn't slept at all the past few days - it had been habitual, her coming to this place, not knowing when it was he would decide to take his departure. There would be no retirement for the night, not now. There would be no peaceful sleep, no dreams - only restlessness, an empty void, isolation.

It seemed this meeting did not faze him, however unexpected it may have seemed. It seemed this meeting did to faze her, however much was on the line.

She did nothing at first, her head only slightly rising as her ears listened to the sound of his soft footfalls. The small, grim smile that traced her lips signaled the moment she brought her head and gaze downcast; before slowly turning her body to face his retreating back. Her glimmering, accepting gaze had traveled along the cobble-stoned road until they found his feet, slowly traveling up to take in his whole figure - the insignia of the Uchiha clan appeared prominent among the dark blue of his upper clothing, it's red rivaling that of the Sharingan, it's white speaking of purity.

This image, right here, of his back, him walking away, it brought back memories. Memories of when she always used to do just that, watch Sasuke's back. Watch Naruto's back. Left behind as they continued to grow stronger, and her weaker. As they continued to laugh, and she cry.

"Why?" A question for everything. A plea for an answer.

It was what made Sasuke stop in his footsteps once again.

"Why do you always stay so quiet, never really saying a single word to me?" They had known each other, yet time didn't seem to matter. Memories didn't seem to matter, all of the ups and downs didn't seem to matter. Nothing seemed to matter in the face of influencing his actions towards her. "When I offer help, you never take it."

"I told you," He started, deep obsidian gaze still focused ahead. "Talking about why I do anything is pointless.. I don't need you. Don't try to look after me."

At his brunt words, she smiled. A smile to hold all, a smile to hide all.

"No matter what, you just always hate me, don't you…?"She paused for a while, as sad amusement crept into her smile, acception creeped into hopeless gaze. "You remember don't you? When we became Genin, the day when our three-man team was first decided. The first time we were here all by ourselves, you were so mad at me…you already hated me." Her voice held a slight tone of amusement in it's softness.

**_"The solitude."_**

**_"Nani?" _**

**_"You can't even begin compare it to the level of where your parents get mad at you," _**

**_"What's the matter?"_**

**_"You're annoying."_**

It took a while before Sasuke replied, as if he was reliving the memory as well.

"I don't remember that."

She expected him to say that. She expected him to completley dissmiss her words, her thoughts, her feelings, everything about her, like he always did. And when it seemed her lip had trembled, it stop, and her sad smile blossomed once again; she had breifly tilted her head upwards, watering gaze holding the sky in their depths. She had forced a small, soft, chastising laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..that's all in the past, neh?" She placed her hands behind her back, lacing them together as if cheerful, her gaze still up in the starry sky. "That's when it all began though. You and me… along with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura smile turned into a grin. "We did all sorts of missions, just the four of us. It was difficult at times… though… I still enjoyed it." She had paused after that last phrase, as if contemplating her next words, hesitating in her resolve, pondering her reservations.

It was then that he gaze traveled to him.

"I know all about your past Sasuke. What you plan to do.." He voice was calm, though there was a hint of warning - it was her first plea. "Even if you do get your revenge ... it won't bring anyone happiness. Not even you." She said this last part quietly, and as her heart dared, she added her last words. "..Nor me."

"I already know…" He almost interrupted her with his abrupt response. He hadn't once lost that cool monotone note to his voice, icy, flat. "However I can't just sit and watch as my life flows by me. And I can't pretend that everything is fine, simply forget all that I have strived for.. In a world where nightmares have become your goals, your foundation, there is no such thing as happiness. I have no dreams, I have no hopes, nor aspirations. Only a purpose. Nothing else matters."

She didn't know what to say to his words, she didn't know how to qualm the pounding of her heart, the way it reached out for him, for the way he was forced to live, to suffer. What was she supposed to say, when words couldn't make it better?

"Just as I thought…" He seemed to have expected her silence, though held reservation that she would know what to say. Understand him. She only proved him right when she didn't. She didn't understand him, no one did. And no one ever would.

Her eyes slightly widened as they fixated on him, listened to his words. She felt his dissapointment, yet indifferent acceptance beating at her core.

"I'm different from you guys. I walk a different path... I tried to think it was my path to do the things we have done up until now…that in it I could find a way to share the joy that you all had, let it heal me, forget my memories. The four of us had many experiences together, and for once in my life, I found a small glimpse of something, of hope..and as soon as it had come, it had gone... it looks like my heart decided on revenge in the end." His eyes glimmered with determination, even regret. "That's my purpose in life…" He had seemed to pause before he finished his words. "..I'll never be like you or Naruto."

It was then that the first tear rolled down her cheek.

"Are you really going to choose to be alone again?" Memories flashed her mind, his fear, his acceptance of solitude and suffering was unbearble to her. "On that day, you taught me that solitude is painful!" Her tears had started to come consistently now, her calm had left her, desperation replaced.

Sasuke seemed to still at her words.

"I understand that so well right now…" Her voice shook with her admittance as her fists slightly clenched, more tears dropping to the stones beneath her. "I have a family, and I have friends, but.. Sasuke-kun... if you're gone…" The cry in her voice was unmistakable. She squeezed the clothing where her heart was, no longer able to control the heartache, still her voice. "To me… it'll be the same as being alone!"

He heard her words, he really did. But he dissmissed them. He had nothing to say to that. Even as he understood how you could be surrounded by people you care for, that care for you, but still feel alone. What he didn't understand was how she held him so high, how he made that much of a difference. It was all petty, childish.

An image of Sakura and Naruto appeared in Sasuke's mind, his gaze seemed to harden with finality.

"From here on out… a new path will open for all of us." He started his footsteps once again.

She had started to tremble, as she watched him walk away from her, again, her eyes wavering as they continued to watch his back. He was getting closer and closer to dissapearing from her life. And fear turned to desperation. She had squeezed her eyes shut, took a deap breath. she was trying to restrain herself, control the swell of emotions, keep them from bursting - she was unsuccessful. She had nothing to lose, not anymore. She couldn't turn back now.

"I love you so much!" She had clenched her fists together as hard as she could as she held them above her heart, not daring to look at him. She could feel it as he stopped, again, and it made the tears come out faster, in greater amounts. "If you stay with me… I'll make sure you won't regret it! Everyday we'll do something fun, we'll definitely be happy… I swear it! I would do anything for you!" It was only then that she was able to reveal her shimmering emerald eyes, focusing on him once again. "Please, stay here with me… with us." She wasn't just pleading for her, she was pleading for Naruto, for Kakashi-sensei.

She watched as Sasuke slightly tilted his head up, as if he were staring up at the sky. He still said nothing.

"I'll even help you with your revenge… I don't know what I could do… but, I'll try my best to do something…" She paused trying to hold back her sobs. "So please… stay with me… or if you can't stay here… please take me you… I don't know what I could do, but…please…" Her whole body ached to go with him.

There was an eerie silence as she was finished with her plea, waiting for his answer, waiting for his response. She had just poured out her heart to him. And she expected no good to come from it, even as she hoped for it.

"You know.." He started. His voice was surprisingly soft, as if her words had almost touched him. She watched as he lowered his head downwards, she could only assume he had closed his eyes with the subtle release of breath - his breath had been released with a sound of amusement, almost disbelief, acceptance.

His head turned to her, he looked over his shoulder; his gaze found hers, her gaze surprisingly studied his. Saw the slight regret, compassion. It was gone as soon as it had come. It was an instance, this moment brief, she had almost forgot to listen when she saw his lips part.

"You really are annoying." This last part was spoken flatly, not containing once single trace of emotion, nor intended insult. It's what he would always say to her. Leave it to him to now change his actions, no matter what the situation.

She had almost choked on her surprise as she watched him look back ahead of himself, and continue walking. As if her earlier words had left him unfazed. He had shot her down like she was nothing, without a second thought. she had no way to get to him with her words. She had no way to keep him here, without doing something drastic, without doing something that would make him stay for other reasons.

Her desperation bordered insanity.

"Don't leave! If you do, I'll scream!" She meant it. Even before his answer to that, she had expected him to stop, she had expected him to stay something to her like she'd regret it if she did, or that he would stay. She was naiive. And she was surprised, when he instantly vanished from her view.

She had frozen completley, her eyes wide, tears still streaming as she felt the disturbance in the air, the ushering of the leaves as they seemed to vibrate with the sudden presence - as her own skin tingled with the anticipation of this disturbance. She felt his body heat, smelt his forresty scent as he appeared behind her. She could do nothing, but wait, stand there in that split moment, feel him, hear him.

"Sakura.." His voice was surprisingly soft, she could feel his breath tickling the back of her neck, his eyes burning ahead, to the area in front of them, that she was looking at as well, the future. "Thank you.." His whisper ushered into her mind, cooled her burning senses, broke her fragmenting heart - she could feel it, as everything around her started to fade. As the sudden jolt racked her insides, heavied her eyes lids.

She felt it all drifting away. She saw no more of her past, lived no more of her present. There would only be that one whisper of a promise, the fluttering of wings, in a place that was only called the future. There was nothing else, there was no feeling, there was no sensation, there was no thought. Only one word. One person.

One hope.

_Sasuke..kun…_

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Yeah, probably not the best start for a story, with the typically used scene from the series, though uhh, all I can say is, there's more? Stay tuned? Have hope? The story continutes, after all.**

:


	2. Chap 1: Without that Second Heart

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series they would show more flashbacks of the Fourth Hokage like they do in the Manga!..The great Yellow Flash. The Father of Naruto.The babe of all babes..well at least in his day. Now he's got himself some competition...Kakashi...Sasuke..Itachi..and some rare moments even Naruto...there's Neji too..ahhh..so many babes in one generation..Priceless! Enjoy!!

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 1: Without that Second Heart.**

(o)

(o)

(o)

_Woke up today thinking of you…  
Another night and I made my way through  
So many dreams still left in my mind…  
But they can never come true…  
I press rewind and remember when  
I close my eyes and I'm with you again…  
But in the end I can still feel the pain..._

_Walked through the park, in the evening air…  
I heard a voice and I thought you were there  
I run away but I just can't escape  
Memories of you everywhere…  
They say that time will dry the tears  
But true love burns for a thousand years  
Give my tomorrows for one yesterday  
Just to know that I could have you here  
When will this river of tears stop falling  
Where can I run so I won't feel alone  
Can't walk away when the pain keeps calling  
I've just got to take it from here on my own  
But it's so hard to let go_

_But that's the way it has to be,  
until I get over you…_

Emerald eyes fluttered open, casting view to the intriguing blue sky above, its span decorated with slowly moving clouds, its sun shining with fiery elegance. Though despite the bright rays of light from this burning star, the emerald orbs held no light, seemingly having been dulled for quite some time. Her eyes mirrored the image of soft petals from a nearby tree, carried away by the same wind that had awoken her from her slumber.She brought up her hand, letting the appendage to her body rest upon her forehead, an act to block the sun's glare.

Haruno Sakura made no other movement, her body both placid and un-motivated from where she lay in the very green luscious grass. The slight breeze continued, slightly bringing her clothing and hair to life and they danced along with it. Though just as soon as the breeze had come, it had left, leaving no movement nor sound but the glistening stream nearby. It was truly a serene location for her, removed from the bustling crowds and everday noises that were provided deeper within the village.

It was also the nearest place to her training area with Tsunade Shishou, whom she had been training under for quite some time now With her new abilities and strenghts as not only a specialized medical kunoichi, but as a highly trained combatant, she truly wasn't the same naive girl; she had been abandoned, left behind.

**Flashback**

The large trees amidst the large forest clearing towered high into the sky, forcing the sun's rays to slighty peak through their array of leaves. The sound of various birds chirping harmonously signaled the early time of day. The slight dampness to the ground signaled the recent nights drizzle, along with the refreshing smell of the pine and flowers, more fragrantful.

Her emerald eyes calmly, yet eagerly watched her sensei as she walked out before her.

"Being a medical ninja requires you to have great skill in the practice, as well as endurance. In your early days you weren't able to get that training. That might have even been in your better fortune, though, Sakura. Because today, we are going to skip all that. If you are ready, you may be able to try and master my level of healing. All in this day."

She then motioned for her student to toss her a kunai; Sakura immediately reached into her weapons pouch, and from an expert throw to an expert catch, the kunai swiftly made its way into the Hokage's hand. Kunai at hand, the Tsunade dragged the weapon along her forearm, letting it tear deeply into her skin. The young pink-haired woman said nothing, but her eyes clearly showed her suprise and curiousness as what her sensei was doing.

As she finished the blood has already started dripping to the ground before her.

Without a word, Tsunade moved her free hand over her torn forearm, upon level a bright blue glow eminating from her splayed out palm. It started slowly at first, the healing of the wound, but after a mere moment of seconds, the wound started to heal perfectly at a very rapid pace, flawless all the more. Only seconds passed.The long gash that had once been dissapeared as if it never was; the only evidence to the wound having been there the large, now dried, amount of blood that still remained.

Not including the fact that a wound of that caliber would take days to heal on its own, with the help of very skilled medical ninja's it would still take up to an hour to fully close the wound, no scars attatched.

But behind the slight prize was envy, determination. She would learn how to do that.

"Now you try."

"I-I don't even know the basics-"

"No need. ." She motioned for Sakura to come closer. "Focus your chakra into your hands," As the bright glow emanated from the young kunoichi's hands, Tsunade put up a hand in signal. "Hold your chakra there."

As a bright glow continued to emanate from Sakura's hands, Tsunade brought up her free hand, and using a single finger, she lightly touched the chakra. A miniscle burn appeared before she retreated her hand.

"See that? The chakra you have right now is harmful to others, and depending how much you put into it, it can be lethal. This is the point where you change that flow."

Sakura let out a small breath, focusing her gaze on that of her hands, her demeanor concentrated.

"Its all about your view of it, and what you want your chakra to do. A medical ninja ,more so than any other type of ninja, should be able to bend their chakra to their will."

It was then that Sakura's hands eminated a glow reminiscent to that of her mentor's.

"Concentrate on that feeling...you wish to heal with this chakra, not battle."

The light emanating from Sakura's hand grew brighter.

Using the same finger which had been burned, Tsunade lightly touched the chakra mass. She held it there for a small moment, letting the burn on her finger fully fade away.

"Good. Now, you know how to heal. Now comes the level of my healing. We all have chakra points in various points of our body, and that excess chakra that comes out of our bodies, say for attack, or healing, most Medical shinobi use the direct chakra supply next to their points. If you wish to heal on a greater scale, you must take the chakra from right in your core, and transfer it the the point in which you wish it to come out. It requires great chakra control, which is why i know you are fully capable."

Sakura looked away from Tsunade, focusing on her hands once again. She slighty tiled her head upwards, concentration etched in her features. A bright glow emanated from her hands once again, though seemingly even brighter than her last. As Sakura continued to hold this healing sensation, Tsunade used her kunai to cut a slash down her finger before placing in in the glowing light. Right upon contact it was healed.

_Kakashi, you did a good job with this one as well_.

"You're doing good, Sakura."Her tone was gentle, proud. Though there almost seemed to be a double meaning behind her words, the slight proud, yet solemn look in her eyes confirmed that. Just as soon as that flicker had come, it had gone."With time, or even just practice in itself, you can master this, not have to think about where your chakra comes from in your body. The healing potency of your chakra can be even greater, and you can learn to do it for much longer. Remember though, you can reverse the flow of your chakra, just one miniscule change and it become life saving, or life threatening...It's all about manipulating your chakra, don't forget."

Tsunade almost looked unsure as she conttmplated her words. But then a confident, convinced expression took place.

"There's one more technique of mine..I beleive you need to learn."

**End Flashback**

She had learned alot of things from her mentor and Hokage. The medical feild had been the last thing they covered in her training. That was almost a year ago. During the time inbetween Tsunade had just been helping her hone her skills, teaching her a few things here and there. Because of Tsunade, she had become the person she was today. She had left behind the neaive, weak girl from the past. The girl who let things get to her easily, wasn't strong enough to put things behind her. There was no way she would ever be like that again.

"Saaaaaakuura-chan!" A voice yelled, with a little ring the "chan" part.

She turned her head to the side, looking on at the figure coming towards her, his voice clearly recognized. As he grew closer she rose into a sitting posistion, almost lazily.

It was then that her whole demeanor seemed to change. A cheerful look adorned her face, her emerald eyes gained some light, a small smile took her lips. Though, it was almost feigned, fake. A preparation for the one coming to her.

_Naruto._

She waved, putting on a full smile as she lifted herself off the ground.

His face was beeming as he jogged up to her, his cerulean eyes glowing .As he made his way in front of her, it was noticeable the complete difference in height as he towered above her; his once childish looks were now refined as he looked much more mature..His jawbone taught, his stance, everything about him different-she couldn't deny the good looks. His locks of spiky blonde hair were longer, almost falling down to the sides of his face, doing nothing to balance out the bright intesity of his cerulean eyes. His voice was a little deeper as well.

"Hey Naruto-kun" She had breifly contemplated the use of the suffix, but seemed unbothered to use it. Naruto's cerulean orbs lit up in a humorous way.

"Oh Sakura-chan, you're finally in love with me? Why couldn't you have told me a few years ago?" He let out a small grin before raising his arms over behind his head, slight leaning back; his trademark stance."How 'bout we train today?"

Sakura cocked her eyebrows as she looked at Naruto in a curious way. She had to admit, she already knew Naruto was way above her level, at least when it came to fighting. That became evident after he finally came back to Konoha, a few months ago after having been gone for nearly two years. She remembered the day perfectly. She had admired him so much, coming to terms with the fact that he had grown up quite a bit, though, even as she was a bit dissapointed when she had found out, now, she was kinda glad he still had that boyish demeanor, or more to say, just perky cheerfulness.

She was even more happy at how close they had gotten over the years.

Though, she always wondered if maybe nowadays he just used that cheerful, oblivious demeanor as a cover up, maybe to get his opponents to underestimate him. Though it was hardly difficult to do so. He was incredibly strong, from the missions she had been on with him, she pretty much was hardly needed, even as a medical ninja.

"Why don't you train with Neji?"

"Eh..I don't know about that..." His cerulean eyes looked up to the sky as he drawled in thought. "The last time we trained.. I..guess i said some things i shouldn't have..aaaand.."

"Aaah what did you do now Naruto?" Sakura asked expectantly, as if things like this weren't anything new. Though she found herself trying to contain a small smile. It was a bit ironic that she was ready to scold an eighteen-year old ninja who towered above her; in both height and skill.

As soon as she said this, Naruto put up his hands in defense.

"Hey it was only a joke! But you know Neji, if he doesn't regularly have a stick up his butt he's got a sharp kunai lodged real deep!...Come to think of it..it's probably Tenten's-"

"Naruto!"

"You know it's true Sakura-chan! I know you've seen it too!...I juuust kinda made it open i guess. He got emotional..and-"

"Naruto!" Sakura tried to reprimand again, though it was hard to hold in a laugh.

"Hey hey nevermind then! To make a story short...iiiit's probably not the best idea for me to go any where near him." He grinned, scratching his head in embarrasment.

"Your so silly Naruto."

He grinned even more, letting his hands reach into the sky above him before clasping them together and pulling, as if stretching. He let out a small grunt in finality to the end of his stretching, deep cerulean transitioned to emerald.

"So, train with me?"

Sakura smiled. "Oh, so now I'm only good enough to give you a warm up?"

Naruto snickered. "We'll have to see!"

"Um.." Sakura purposely took long to drawl in thought.

"Come on Sakura-chan, pleeeeaaase!" He gave his best puppy dog look. With his amazing speed he had dropped down to one knee, his hands clasped together. His huge cerulean eyes begged into hers. Even with his older self the look was un-refusable. That puffing lip certainly did the job.

"Ah! To adorable to refuse!" Sakura smiled as she grabbed each side of his puppy-dog face before giving it a little squeeze. Naruto immediately pulled away, letting out a small painful laugh as he did so. His own hands shot up to rub the momentary soreness out of his cheeks.

He looked to see Sakura jog away towards their destination. She paused mid-way, turning a head over her shoulder.

"But don't go easy on me!" She then continued jogging.

A huge smile graced his lips as he watched her jog away. Though there was a different type of light adorning his eyes. That of proudness, awness. Even a small hint of sadness.

It had been almost four years since Uchiha Sasuke had abandoned Konoha village, consumed by his heart's dark desire for true, relentless power. Since then there had been no word on his location, or of anything to do with him. It was unknown if he had finally managed to kill Uchiha Itachi, the man, his brother, who had wiped out the entire Uchiha clan.

The thought of Sasuke, his best if not former friend, his brother brought into light the memories. His failing in bringing him back to Konoha, the deeds of a promise he had made not only with himself, but with Sakura. Somehow, he had gotten over it. He had comes to terms with the fact that resuming life as it was, life with Team Seven, was impossible. If they were to meet again, it would happen, but no element of what was once had would be regained. There was no guarantee that their confrontation would be a civil one, that wounds wouldn't not be reopened. Not with the memories and scars that plagued their minds. Plagued Sakura.

Since that day she had been found on the bench, the day that he found her lying on the cold conrete, the outlines of tears staining her pale complexion, he knew it had marked the dawn of a new Haruno Sakura. She had lost everything she once had. She had lost, what to her, was the only meaning, the only reason for her to keep going. Her cheerfullness, that always flickering lightness shining in her deep emerald gaze.She had completley changed, and before where he could read her, easily through her actions, he could read nothing. Her smile would always brighten up his day, fill him with this giddiness he coudln't describe. They were gone. Now, her smiles were fake, that light in her eyes fake. He could easily see the dullness, see the muscles in her face cringing everytime she forced a smile. Though,she fooled everyone, not a single person, friend nor foe, was able to see past this masquerade. All but him.

She was trying her hardest not to be the girl she was before. And in its ways, that was both good, and bad. She was forgetting who she truly was.

Though, slighty, just slightly, miniscule amounts at a time, he could see it. He could see that long lost light in her eyes fighting to become victorious over the darkness that plagued her soul. The moments where her eyes would glaze over, taletale signs that she was reliving the past, were less frequent. She was improving so much. And he was so proud of her.

"Your doing so good, Sakura-chan.."

It was why he still acted childish and put on the best clown act he could. It was why he always tried to find things to do with her, not just for himself, but to keep her occupied, remind her that she could still live, live great, be happy, learn to live with the memories. Move on.

If he could get a smile, a true smile out of her any one time, he had accomplished his goal for the day.

The very determined friend let out one big breath before letting a bigger grin travel to his face.With that, he ran after his dear friend, eagerly awaiting the sparring that would take place.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

It still looked the same. With the many trees spread out like a small forest. In a quite large clearing there was those three unforgettable logs sticking out of the ground. The slight breeze that had swept into the clearing rustled the blades of grass and surrounding trees, its currents producing a small whistling.

Sakura took in a deap breath looking around as memories overwhelmed her. She had always thought about the more unhappy memories, she had almost forgotten about the good ones. As she looked here, she found herself wanting even more so the reunion of team seven. What a day that would be. A day she would wait for..if it ever would come again.

Her emerald eyes traveled to Naruto as he took a deep breath, seemingly ready to say something. Words to break the silence and tension that had ensued.

"Aaall right! Ready Sakura-chan?" She gave him a small smile in response, turning to walk few feet away from him. For some reason she found herself kind of excited. It was her chance to see how much better she had gotten. She came to a halt, crossing her arms in front of her as she spun around to face Naruto.

"Well then, come at me!"

Naruto grinned and took out two shuriken, tossing it with excellent precision towards his teammate. A large clinking noise sounded as Sakura's index and middle fingers caught the weapons, doing nothing to stop them from spinning. She tossed them back in Naruto's direction, forcing him to dissapear to avoid contact.

She straightned tall as the clearing grew silent once again in cessation to Naruto's absence. She kept a straight face, closing her eyes and heightening her senses to sense any change in the environment as to give away his position and determine where he would come from.

It was sudden, when her eyes snapped open, poised fist slamming into the ground below her.

Earth all around unleveled itself, breaking up and cracking along the area in front of her to reveal a dumfounded-looking blonde-haired ninja.

"Found you." She grinned.

Grinning back, Naruto came at her ready to punch, and she swiftly dodged the impact as he came and begun a combo of kicks and punches to hit her. She blocked most of them, coming out with a punch to the face that she managed to ride with. She ducked, swiftly dodging his next swing before landing a kick to his gut. The force of the blow sent Naruto to the ground a few feet away. She straightened tall, dissapointed eyes finding him.

"Naruto give it all you got, don't go easy on me!"

Naruto said nothing as he rose to his feet, stern eyes traveling to meet hers. He dissapeared immediately, repearing in front of Sakura with great speed. He was already in the motion of jabbing a fist towards her face. It seemed to go in slow motion as she leaned far back in limbo- Naruto's momentum causing his upper body to hover above her; in a sort ofbackflip she brought her legs up in a burst of energy, flipping her them over, so that she straddled him at the waist. She wasted no time before shoving her fist downwards in punch.

He dissapeared from under hear, reapearing not to far away with his hand already brought up in a seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The sound of the white clouds of smoke sounded simultaneously to their sizzling as they immediately dissapated to reveal a small number of Naruto shadow clones. They immediately charged.

She tossed a shuriken and it hit the closest Naruto, reducing it to a puff of smoke. The chakra string that she had attatched to the kunaii allowed her to continue guiding it to the next clone, cutting him in half to reveal a puff of smoke.

As the other small group reached her they began an assault of attacks combining kicks and punches, even chakra filled ones. Sakura dodged a fist coming to her face, ducked down, and tripped her attacker. She grabbed another clone's hand and threw him into a tree. The one she tripped came up at her again aiming a punch.

Before she had time to dodge, a chakra filled kick came right at her, she put her arms in front of her, blocking to avoid a lot of damage. She quickly dealt with the other two, leaving the real Naruto with a smirk on his face. He did some more familiar hand seals. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" He created about twenty more clones and tried again. Sakura evaded them by doing a series of one handed back flips putting up a good distance away from the big mass of Naruto clones.

This only caused them to head for her new direction. When they were a good ten foot radius from her, Sakura did a few hand seals and manipulated a great amount of chakra into her palms and slammed them into the ground. The real Naruto, realizing what was about to happen jumped out of the way, leaving his clones to perish in a bright pink light. The tearing of the ground could be heard as the Naruto's let out a quick noise of pain before they all disappeared.

When the last rock crumbled down to ground, and the smoke subsided, all that was left was broken up earth, and a small accompanying crater at her feet.

Not waiting one moment, Naruto charged Sakura, aiming a combo of attacks. She retaliated, executing her own as well. Fist met fist, foot met foot, and loud clinks could be heard as weapons clashed together. Picking up speed he did his last set of attacks with chakra-filled fists. They were a little bit too fast for Sakura so she just blocked them with her arms. The punches left her momentarily stunned in pain; Naruto took advantage of this as he reapeared behind her. She didn't expect this and got sent hurling towards a tree by a punch to the face.

Sighing, she braced herself for the impact with the tree, but found herself instead pressing against something soft, but studry: Naruto's chest. His arms were placed on either side of her upper arms as he held her. They then both landed on the ground.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" She nodded, gently pushing herself off of him.

"Sorry I might have been a little too hard on you." Naruto scratched his head as his cerulean eyes gazed at Sakura's turned face.

"No don't worry about it." Sakura assured him, putting on a small smile. She didn't notice the slight flash of discontent that very breifly reflected in his eyes. Most likely from her feigned smile. He seemed to discouraged to say more, he couldn't think of more to say.

"Well, hope i gave you enough of a warm up!." She gave him one last big smile before turning the other way. "Come find me later."

"But Sakura-chan..."

A smile still graced her lips as she looked over her shoulder. "I'm a little tired, okay, Naruto? Can a girl get some rest?" She let out a small grunt of amusement before continuing to walk.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

For some reason she had unconciously taken a detour to the more quiter part of town. A small rock-cobbled path that curved through and area of trees before leading to the main gates. This area was very familiar to her; and as she made her way past the undeniable concrete bench, she let her fingers lightly brush along it.

She didn't know why, but everyday she would walk by here, maybe it was automatic, as if she was expecting something. She was a bit upset with herself for breaking the small record she held; she hadn't walked past here a single day for the past month, but now she had.

Though, it was nice, very quiet, serene. A sort of escape for her from the bustling crowd of expectant people.

Her emerald gaze transitioned upwards to look at the end of the path as it opened up to the busy streets of Konoha, the sound of loud chattering and everyday noises reaching her eyes. Letting out a small breath, she continued walking, the emotionless countenace slightly perking up to allow cheerfulness, as if the occurence was routine to her.

A new light from the sun hit her, unblocked from the numerous trees that had once surrounded.

"Hey Sakura-san!" A group of villagers had stopped in their activities to turn and greet her.

"Hey!" She gave them a huge smile, waving back as she continued walking. How long was that, one second before someone noticed her?Had to be a new record.

She continued like this, replying to everyone who greeted her. This wasn't new to her. She had become a well respected kunoichi, in no other part than due to Tsunade-sama and her training. Though others like Naruto, even though joking, had continued to try and convince her that her looks played a huge part in it as well.

In mid thought, her curious eyes looked over to someone jogging in her direction.

"Sakura-san! The Hokage-sama wants you at her office immediately!"

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Yea it's a lame start for a story, but things definately pick up after this chapter, don't give up yet!**

**Action Next chapter!**

**Hastua Luego!**


	3. Chap 2: Advance on Konoha

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **So uh, i don't own the Naruto series..yea..that's about it.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind the Smile**

**-Chapter 2: The Advance On Konoha**

(o)

(o)

(o)

All was soundless as Neji stood among his fellow comrades in silence. The only noise the slight whistle of the wind as it swayed through the open window of the Hokage's office, slightly rustling few of the lightweight papers among the desk.

It was easily felt the tension and rising tempers amidst the room as all stood with bated patience, eyes filled with curiosity and seriousness.They were all resultant of the long look Tsunade was giving them all as she gathered her words, her facial expression very unreadable.

His pearl eyes remained on her, though there was no curiosity; he was calm, and able to predict that likelihood and timing of her words as her lips parted to speak.

He was the one who had informed her.

"Konoha is in grave danger." Her first words escaped her in serious tone.

**Flashback**

The smell of early morning tickled his nose as he walked through the vast forest adjacent to the gates of Konoha village. The pines of trees, perfume of flowers; the gaining rays of the rising sun warmed his skin as it managed to peak through the trees hovering above brought all his senses to life. The ground met softly with his calm, poised footsteps, and he made not a sound and he strolled along with a sort of gracefulness. It took him another moment of traveling before he slowed to a halt.

His pearl eyes scanned the area around him as his senses flared out. Seemingly content and satisfying with his choosing of place, key to his liking due to the numerous amounts of vantage points possible within his grasp, the Hyuuga proceeded to sit down, with one leg crossing under the other.

He shut out all other senses, closing his eyes, relaxing his body, calming his breaths. He cleared his mind completley leaving only the incoming signals and messages from the nature around him to invade. This was a perfect place. It was secluded well enough from the bustling and loudness of the village, which lacked untouched, un-humanized earth. Letting out one last barely discernable sigh of a breath, his body relaxed compltley, his mind extending outwards in all directions, sensing, hearing and feeling what the ground beneath him was feeling, what the wide expanse of forest around him was feeling.

He felt soft footsteps tingle his skin as it did the soil of the earth. He sensed the movement of an arm as the motion vibrated from the hollows of the trees surrounding. He also caught sense of the kunai held in the arm, ready to be thrown. He was aware of the persons exact position, exact features, and intentions; the figure was aware of his location, but not his intent, or the moment in which he had dissapeared.

The Hyuuga prodigy swiftly appeared in front of his teamate, stopping her arm in place, holding it in its extension. The two teamates stayed like that, gazing into eachother's eyes. Haughty, yet amused chocolate eyes gazed into cool, calm pearl. It took a moment before a smile graced Tenten's lips as she sighed in defeat. Noting her submission, a small smirk graced his lips as well, however breif as he released Tenten's arm, moving to sit down once again.

"It's no fun not being able to sneak up on you anymore." She joked however winy like as she watched him sit down. "So, this is your new spot eh?" She looked around for a moment, bringing her hand over her eyes as she looked up against the glare of the sun. "It's nice."

"Yeah." Was all Neji said. He glanced at her, it seemed he were about to grin, but did not. He let out a small release of breath before closing his eyes once again. Concentration was his goal. Tenten was also very aware of this, and made her it own goal to make no noise, though it didn't apply to her gaze. A sort of warmness coveted by her eyes, slightly twinkled into exposure everytime she looked at him without his notice.

She just strolled over to another tree and waited, gently sliding down to the ground. It was nice, and she wouldn't mind a relaxing pass time. Maybe she could learn to do what he did. Neji's eyebrows were furrowed in focus, but the rest of his body's muscles were so relaxed that if she pushed him, he surely would have fallen over. He was embracing his deep state of meditation.

At this point Neji could hear Tenten's every breath, every heart beat, the ruffling of her pouch as she took out a kunai and fiddled with it. He could hear birds flocking, the splashing of jumping fish in a nearby stream, the little squirrels and rabbits that were obviously startled quickly huddling into their burrows… and then something came upon him.

Tenten saw his hands grow tense as his senses went deeper into the forest. Something was wrong.

A twig snapping… the scraping of feet on hollow tree branches… the brushing of leaves and deep, shallow breaths. A few miles distance seperated them. Three...Five miles. There was a small group traveling in their direction. He delved deeper into his senses; the five miles seemed to be leading something else. The sounds grew louder; there were more footsteps, ragged breathing, and chattering. He couldn't even begin to count the numbers.

His eyes snapped open. He jumped up and immediately activated his Byakuugan for enhanced vision. And surely, there were rows of Sound Nin jumping through the trees as far as he could see. But they still had about twenty minutes until they got here. _If that._

Tenten was alert, knowing that something was bothering her teammate. "Neji?" She asked, waiting for him to tell her what to do. He was still looking far ahead.

"Tenten, go to the guards and alert them. Tell them the Sound are invading.." He didn't wait for a response and ran towards the Nins. Without a second thought, Tenten ran.

**End Flashback**

He had set quite a few blowtags, not under any impression that they would help much, or matter of fact even be set off, but it was something. He had then taken the time to try and get a broad count on numbers, but even that was impossible by the never ending lines of Shinobi. He had used his Byakaguun, the numbers stretched out as far as he could see, as far as he could reach with his improved sight.

Tsunade took a long look around at the shinobi once again before speaking.

"There is no time to discuss this, only time for us to assemble a defense. And possibly an offense."

Many pairs of eyes squinted as she said this, their eagerness for her words to continue bading them quiet.

"This moment, as we speak, the army of Sound, if not its whole damn village is advancing on Konoha. I want you all to assemble every rank of our ninjas in the village at the gates. There you will be split into your positions." There were only nods as most of the shinobi in the room dissapeared.

Tsunade had turned and let out a small sigh, though stopped as she noticed the group that remained. She wasn't surprised in the least, and her eyes seemed to light up with a sort of graveness. She let her stern brown eyes meet the gazes of Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura.

A small silence ensued before she turned to face them completley.

"If Uchiha Sasuke truly is with the Sound advancing on us, it is your mission by my order for you to kill him. If you even dare to hesitate you too will be betraying this village." She looked specifically at Sakura. She stared back with an emotionless expression.

It was then that another small silence ensued.

Tsunade was about to turn away to allow them leave, but she was interupted by the small , stern voice that sounded the room.

"And if there's a chance to capture him?" Her emotionless, calm tone implied no personal feelings to her inquiry. Naruto and Kakashi took their long glances to her, before returning to Tsunade as they waited an answer, and answer to a question they too, had wanted to ask.

Sakura's emerald gaze clashed with Tsunades amber.

"He will present you no chance."

"And if he does?" Sakura's calm voice continued to argue, though there wasn't a single trace of hostility.

"If he does he will be brought before a council, tried and convicted for all his crimes. He is an S-class criminal, Haruno Sakura, and he will be executed."Tsunades voice seemed growing in frustration, yet stern and commanding as she continued to stare Sakura down.

Naruto's jaw clenched as he seemed eager to say something, but he did not, letting out a barely disernable release of breath as he averted his eyes to the side.

No emotion crossed her face, and only a small moment of silence seperated her word from Tsunade.

"Understood."

They all dissapeared from the room.

..ooo00ooo00ooo..

"As you all know, this is a very troublesome situation. Konoha needs your cooperation. We are pressed for time so just stick with what you have to do. If you really have an objection, speak up quickly. If you don't, then don't waste our time. Do you all understand?"Shikamaru's calm voice sounded the area filled with awaiting shinobi. Their numbers requiring absolute silence to be able to hear his words.

"We need Neji up in the front with the Jounins outside the gates. With his Byakuugan he can use his three-hundred and sixty degree angle sight and use the Hyuuga main family's Heavenly Spin. It excels in both offense and defense which is the ideal move for the frontline... So Neji, you'll be just a few feet ahead of the Jounins doing that. That fine?" Neji nodded. "Now…" Tenten interrupted him.

"Up front Neji would need more help. With my weapon skills, I can cover him and help make sure none get through..." Shikamaru didn't have time to argue. "Okay then. It would be best for Tenten to have your back with her excellent weapon skills. You together can lessen the load on us behind you. When you get too tired you will signal the Jounins, and they will let you through…" He looked over to Sakura.

She spoke up immediately. "The next line behind you will be Naruto. He will make his own little army of clones and give Neji and Tenten room to retreat. When you guys are safe, he will stay up front until all of his clones are gone. Then he will go back to the line with the other Jounins and fight. Naruto, can you do that?" She asked.

"Of course." His calm, slightly deep voice sounded as he did his great "hero/cool guy" pose. Sakura gave a small smile and continued. "Kiba, Shino, Ino, Lee, and Chouji will be behind Naruto with the rest of the Jounins and Chuunins. Neji, you go back to there and help them out. Shino, you can use your bugs to whatever advantage you like while a select few will make sure you don't get hurt."

"Okay."

"Alright."

"Gotcha."

"Right" They all replied. Sakura signaled to Shikamaru.

"Behind you guys, a ways back, I will be there making sure no Sound Nins try to sneak past and get through to the civilians and Genin. Whenever Tenten is done up front with Neji, she will come back with me while I use my shadow Jutsu to trap them. Tenten can use her weapons to kill them. If needed we will help the line in front of us." He smirked at Ino. "Tsunade-sama?"

She simply nodded in agreement.

Shikamaru also nodded before continuing.

"Okay, all the Genin will be escorting the civilians around the mountains through the underground tunnel. Hinata, you will be with them, putting your Byakuugan to good use to scout for any nin that sneaked past us. If the need arises..." He was at a loss. Sakura saved him.

"You take them out."

"H-hai."

Sakura then continued.

"As for me, I will be all over the place helping out wherever I can, healing those who need to be healed. But first I will be up front taking out a lot of the Nin coming in before they reach Neji and Tenten." Shikamaru drawled on, not being one good with encouragement. Sakura closed it all up.

"So everybody, let's try the best we can. Good luck and let's kick some Sound Nin ass!"

"Yaaa!" they all cheered. They quickly arranged in their positions, ready for battle.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

With one giant leap, Sakura made her way to an outpost uon Konoha's giant wall. Over head the Sun ahd began its descent behind the mountains, its retreat creating wonderful clashes of the sky's colers, a battle neither would win before they dissapeared.

She had no time to enjoy this as her emerald eyes snapped to the armada of Sound shinobi only a distance away. Witthout a word she looked to Neji and Tenten, who's gazes had met hers. They slightly nodded before walking past the Konoha gates, and towards the oncoming enemy.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Her chocolate brown eyes transitioned to the sky above them as they walked, her mood content, un-sorrowful. A breif smile graced her lips.

"Beautiful sight, neh?"

He let his gaze transition breifly to the sky above him, the clashing colors of the sky reminding him of a distant memory.

**Flashback**

The chirping of the crickets had all ready sounded the start of the late evening; the moon had risen high in the sky, its craters not hidden nor obscured from view by any lone stream of clouds. Not many stars sparkled in the sky that night, though in their place little fireflies vacated the area, looking to be floating orbs of light, luminscent in the moon's glow.

The yawn of a grunt that came from Lee as he reached his arms high into the air broke the comfortable silence that had long since situated between the post training teamates. The long and tall green grass that they had been walking through, part of an extremely large opening in the forest's span, tickled their exposed skin as they continued to travel through. Their destination. The small rounded hill that rested not too far form them, its area very populated with soft, lucious grass, and its height allowing added benefit to the wonderful view that was the night sky.

"Neji-san. I'll race you to the top!" It was a challenge, however jokingly stated. Whether he was serious or not, Neji had simply glanced at him, delivering a look that implied his unwillingness, and the reason as to why not. It had already long ago been discovered that Rock Lee could surpass him in speed easily, there was no denying on either side.

Tenten let out a small giggle, making her way ahead of the two. She glanced over her shoulder to her two teamates, her best friends.

"You two didn't forget about me did you?"

It was then that she took off, running towards the small mound that had caught their attention and desire. The two young men watched her with amused eyes, still gazing as she stopped once more.

"What are you two dingle-heads waiting for! You satisfied with letting a girl beat you?"

Rock Lee let out a hearty chuckle, turning his amused view to Neji, who also had a small smirk adorning his calm features. Neji met his gaze. There was nothing spoken between them.

They had bolted from their posistion, starting in their pursuit after Tenten.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The confines of his mouth could be seen as he yawned, reaching his arms high above him before fearlessly letting himself fall onto his back. Small before unseen particles shot out from the grass underneath him, rising in a small puff. The taijutsu specilaist put his arms behind his head before focusing his eyes on the sky.

Tenten followed action, letting herself fall onto the ground before her. Neji casually lowered himself into a sitting posistion, leaving his legs bent up, and his hands behind him for support.

"I think it would be nice to see the sunrise together, don't cha think?" All seemed to have a mutual agreement as they started up at the nearly starless sky.

**End Flashback**

His eyes refocused on the enemy coming towards them. He didn't say anything, which was unusual of him ..

"Now don't go getting yourself hurt, Neji." She added, a slight humorful tone masking her slight nervousness.

It was then that his pearl eyes traveled to look at her face, which was now turned to look ahead at the enemy.

"Tenten.." Her chocolate brown eyes twinkled with slight suprise and curiosity as he called her name.By the time she had looked to him he had already averted his gaze. "Just be careful, okay?." He was completley serious, an almost protective tone directing his voice. It was almost as if he was too content with her being there, the front lines.

Her unreadable gaze was stil cast on Neji, seemingly as she contemplated her words to say, though her thoughts were interupted as the distance battle cries were heard.

Neji lowered his body in the very familiar stance, his palms splayed out to the direction in front of him, his fingers pointed in deadly angle.He glanced to Tenten who immediately nodded, reaching into her clothing before pulling a single scroll. She expertly grabbed the opening, yanking the parchment out before her, letting its length reach out fully. The small bite directed to her thumb allowed her to create the line of blood along the scrolls lenght.

It was then that she started her first slow, graceful twirl, slowly brining her arms up and her spinning climbed in both speed and strength. As the tornado illusion had slowly started to from, Tenten jumped up, finally halting her spinning. Weapons of all kinds appeared from within the depths of the scroll, moving on their own as they started their descent towards the enemy.

When the first weapon had started its travels towards the enemy, Neji had followed pursuit, his calm eyes reflecting the long expanse of the Sound Shinobi coming towards him.

And so, the war began.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Did ya like? Next chapter be prepared for confontations, the works. Ja!**


	4. Chap 3: Battle for Konoha

**A/N:** Thanks for tha reviews! i appreciate it!

**Disclaimer:** Ya know i was kinda watchin Naruto and thinkin in my head _if only things could go this way_ ( you all know what i'm talking bout XD)then i realized that it didn't happen that way. I almost began to wonder why but then ( like the genious i am j/k) I realized that it's probablybecause i don't own the Naruto series...so there it is.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 3: Battle for Konoha**

(o)

(o)

(o)

"Lets go." A deep voice whispered throughout the hushed chatter. The edge of the forest obscured them from view as they made their way even closer to the large wall that was vital to Konoha Village's defense. A few were scurrying along the path, twenty at the most, all seemingly jittery yet cautions as they moved about.

"Heh lets see how they like this!" Exited, yet whispered chatter broke out between the men as one of them was in the action of adhering a sort of explosive to the wall. more of them were set up along the wall, adding the the power of the chained explosions that would occur. As it seemed they had planted the last explosive, heads snapped towards the tree branches as they rustled abruptly. They did not see the kunai as it travelrfd from an unseen place at a great distance, burying itself into an unsuspecting victim.

"Argh! My hand, my hand!" The man screamed as the kunai peirced his skin, embedding itself. It had gone to fast to be traced back to its thrower.

"Where did that come from!" The panicked inquirys seemingly echoed between the different men as they restlessly moved around, eyes darting about. The stealthy attacker threw yet another kunai, it's source yet again undetected as it hit the same man with excellent precision, right in the center of his head. His body froze strangely as his delirious eyes clmsily tried to look at the object in the middle of his head. It was then that he fell to the ground, lifeless. They jumped away fom his body looking, all letting out more panicked shouts.

"Men, keep your eyes open, try to find the son of a bitch!"

It was then that more kunai came, one by one from different directions. The one who was doing this had unbelievable speed, that was assuming it was only one attacker.The kunais all hit the intended men in vital parts of their bodies, not one missing. More kunais came left and right, even from above, tearing skin down to the bone. Too fast for them to make a sound.Only thuds and the breaking of the twigs and leaves on the ground could be heard as more of the ninjas hit the ground.

The small group that remained attempted to scatter, trepidation direction their actions now. But the attacker was to fast. No leaf rustled, no twig snapped, not even the wind was disturbed as the attacker came from hiding. All that could be seen was a blur as a figure jumped down from the trees, and with lighning fast speed took the reamaning nin out one by one. Bones were broken quickly and efficiently, bodies slashed in such a quick fashion that no sound of pain could erupt from the ninjas throats. All went still as the bodies fell to the ground around the attacker, creating a huge rush of leaves as they sprouted out from the pressure. They fell around the attacker as he proceeded to stay crouched.

His head bowed down, bangs obscuring his eyes from view. He took a moment to still the beating of his heart, to control the shaking of his body. Slowly, forebodingly, he stood up, letting the shining light reveal his features. Handsome face, raven hair, he lifted his head up, revealing his cold, yet smoldering obsidian eyes.

Uchiha Sasuke was furious.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The slight breeze that had passed through the village gently lifted her hair up, letting it dance with its currents along with the ruffling of her clothing. Sakura's emerald eyes were focused on Tenten and Neji's flawless battle with the oncoming Sound ninjas. From her posistion atop one of the large lookout points situated on Konoha's walls, her view was able to stretch widley. The two shinobi seemed to be doing fine, no single nor group of enemies overpowering them.

At that, she let her eyes transistion to various area around her, the heights allowing her many vantage points. They fell on her comrades, scattered amongst the crowd of shinobi waiting on the other side of the village's entrance. They fell more specifically on her friends, friends that she had developed even stronger bonds with over the years. They were memories she would never forget.

Her gaze halted, focusing on Uzumaki Naruto. Her best friend, left unrivaled to all. He was using the sleeves of his arm to clean a forehead protector, seemingly as a way to pass the time.

As Sakura's eyes transitioned specifically to his forehead, it was clearly obvious that he already wore his, the insignia of the leaf clearly prominent. This simple confirmation comfirmed the fact that protector grasped in his hands was none other than Uchiha Sasuke's. The scratch taht adorned his discarded headband was prominent, brightly glaring with the reflection of the sun. That alone bore some part of Sasuke with it, along with a great deal of memories, maybe a reason as to why Naruto always kept it with him. Maybe a sort of symbol for hope, hope on something that still might not happen, even after all the years that had passed.

Years passed since the dissapearance of their former teamate, their friend.

She clearly recalled the time when Naruto and others set off on a mission to find the Uchiha prodigy, and retreive him, if at all possible, before he reached his destination at the time. Orochimaru. Before the "number one loud ninja" had left, he had given her a big grin, along with one of his signature poses as he promised to bring him back.

Soon after they sent Kakashi and some others to find them, who had not come back.

Most of them were in critical condition, hurt badly, most of all, Naruto. And the one thing she had noticed, the first thing she had noticed as he was brought back unconcious to the gates, was that headband, scrath and all, clutched very securely in the confines of his hand. She had gotten mad at him, only consumed with the fact that he hadn't brought Sasuke back. Her behavior then was horrible, and she was thankful that now she had changed, or though she had. She had blamed Naruto, even though it clearly looked like he had tried. More than tried. He was on the brink of death.

And when she had thought about that, about the fact that Naruto was still alive, not by luck, but by discontinuation of their fight, it gave her hope. It clearly hinted that Sasuke had let Naruto live, and because of that, she never gave up her hope of maybe seeing him again, of maybe all these plans working someday. She wanted to beleive the bonds that were made between the three of them were still there, intact and holding on, hoping as she was.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The memory reflected in his deep cerulean eyes as he rubbed the headband with the sleeve of his shirt. The battle. Their last meeting. It would never be a distant memory, the image of a certain raven-haired boy would stay etched in his mind. The headband, the image, they belonged to a friend, a best friend, or more to say.. a former best friend.

If he was there, right now, attacking the village…he would kill him… he had to.He would not let him betray them any further. Not the village, not the people, not their hearts. He couldn't. He had to protect his precious people, even if it meant hurting one who was and maybe still is precious to him.

_Sasuke.._

He lifted up his head, his cerulean eyes burning.

"Naruto!" The distant call from Neji awoke him from his thoughts, snapping his head to look through the open gates of Konoha.

It was then that he lifted up his hands in a seal.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" A vast amount of Naruto clones appeared and charged in the direction of Neji and Tenten to help them retreat as he started his attack. The two coudn't releive themselves as they mass amount of enemies charging towards them never dwindled .More just kept coming preventing their escape.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Neji jumped back as he sliced another neck in one swift movement of his kunai. His was merciless, his attacks both precise and repetative. He had to cover for Tenten too, who's skills did not lie in hand to hand combat. She was having trouble. Neji stole a glance back to the hundreds of Naruto coming, it would take a while for them to get there because they had to push through more nins who went past them.

Tenten was exhausted, her body feeling like lead with each movement she made.

"Tenten!" She looked over to Neji. He ducked and kicked another nin, immediately eniciating another. "Go back now, I can hold till Naruto gets here." Right then and there she felt like slapping him. She let out a small haughty noise before continuing to fight. If Neji stayed she stayed.

He sighed and kept on fighting.

Naruto would have been there by now, but his progress was halted as a large body of enemies had come from the side, trying to stop them.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Her complete attention had focused on them as she noticed the stuggle and reigns on time. As she began to run, she pulled out a large windmill shuriken, taking a few more long strides before she jumped off the large Konoha wall. In midair, she threw the weapon, letting out a soft grunt as she did so. On its path the shuriken made it way down at an angle before straightening itself as it moved past the running Naruto's. It then made contact with the rows of Sound shinobi ahead of them, almost completley clearing a path to Neji and Tenten. Though the path was closing as more started to fill their places.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Humorously, all the Naruto's yelled a quick, but well felt thanks to her as they continued running. All the Naruto'slet out a battle cry as they pulled out kunai clashing with the Sound. The clones annihilated them. Piling over them. Puffs of smoke were seen as many Naruto also went down. The Sound weren't amateurs either.

All around Naruto there was fighting: His clones vs the Sound nins. He took out a kunai and tossed it into a nins neck. As one charged up to him he ducked down, avoiding the punch, and swiftly came up, upercutting the man in the process. He turned around to kick one in the gut, sending hinm flying into two others, knocking them down like dominos.

Sakura did a few flips and landed before she landed on the ground.

Just as she did, a big explosion was heard. Her head, along with thousands of others, snapped to where the sound came from. There was a big whole in the side of Konoha's wall. Sound nin were piling in. The pink haired kunoichi did a few handseals, seemingly dissapearing, and most likely on a path towards the explosion.

"Enough of this" The deep voice seemed to echo among the crowd of Sound ninjas. Soon cheers erupted as the armada's center parted way to a very tall, muscular man as he made his way to the front lines. A large sword of a weapon was balanced on his shoulder, its lenghts wrapped in bandages. His burning crimson hair glistened in the glaring sun, his golden eyes holding nothing but coldness as they held the image of Naruto in their depths.

"Souto, we don't know where the real one is." Souto let out a small, amused grunt as he continued to train his eyes ahead of him, grasping the sight of a single Naruto surrounded by a mass armada of Narutos. His fighting style alone diversed him from the rest of the clones. Souto held his gaze as he continued to walk forwards. His steps were calm, the grim smirk never leaving his face. He tightened his grip on his blade as he neared, drawing on speed not expected with such a huge weapon, he swung the enormous sword horizontally.

It was followed by breif, cut off grunts from the Naruto clones as a large cloud of white smoke hailed in the air from the Naruto clones as they dissapeared. Souto continued to do this, easily, calmly as he never took his eyes off a certain Naruto. Big group by group, the Naruto's went down, and as he neared closer, it was then that the Naruto he his gaze was focused on turned to look at him from his battling.

It was then that Souto dissapeared, reapering in front of Naruto as he aimed a simple punch. The blonde ninja swiftly brought up his hands to block, immediately dissapearing as Souto aimed another. Souto stood up tall, transitioning his eyes to look at Naruto as he appeared not to far away.

His cerulean eyes were trained on Souto, though they were slightly squinted as if he was pain. Another moment passed before Souto slowly started walking towards him. Confidently almost.

His ceruelan eyes were trained on the man as he continued to stand still, speculative eyes watching his every move. Just as soon Souto dissapeared. Immediately Naruto brought out his own kunai, posistioning it right in front of his abdomen. He did just in time as Souto appeared before him, swinging his large sword horizontally. Though blocked with the tiny kunai, the force of the blow sent Naruto flying a few yards back, and he expertly executed a small flip, landing atop the soles of his feet.

His fiery gaze transitioned to the battle cries of the Sound Shinobi as they ran past into the gates of Konoha, being met with the defenses right at its entrance. An agitated grunt escaped his lips as he did so. He had wanted to prolong that as long as possible, but this guy. He let his eyes travel back to the lone Sound shinobi standing before him. He focused on him, even with the tempting distraction of the never-ending crowd of Sound shinobi advancing on Konoha. Time was something he did not have.

"It's time to meet your end boy."

Naruto's fists clenched together tightly.

"I have a name..." He coudln't help as his eyes glanced at the oncoming Sound Shinobi one last time before refocusing on Souto. "Uzumaki Naruto..the future Hokage of the Hidden Village of the Leaf.. Remember that when you fall."

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The ushed whispers from the large group of villagers echoed within the concrete walls of the narrow passage, dimly lit by the suspended and hanging lamps from atop the ceiling.

Her calm, yet slightly worried pearl eyes glanced behind her every now and then, at the crowd behind her.Behind her followed a large group of younger ninjas, mainly genin, and also higher level shinobi like herself that made sure this retreat took place safely.

Every now and then a large rumble would shake the area, evidence to the battling outside, and catalyst to the slight dust and small particles of debree falling from the old structure.

Konohamaru's determined eyes looked ahead of him as he continued to walk. Moegi and Udon were on either side of him, their worried gazes focusing on him.

"Do you think Naruto-kun is going to be all right? Moegi, worried, voiced her inquiry. Udon nodded his head in agreement.

"He's going become the next Hokage.." Konohamaru started. "He won't die. There's no way he ever could."

"Yea he's too strong." Udon added.

"And brave." Moegi added in last.

Hinata kept her eyes focused ahead even as she heard their small conversation.

_Naruto-kun_

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The yellow-colored, spiked strands of his hair slighty swayed before he took his first running step towards his enemy. The speed in which he advanced was very great, his eyes calm, yet impatient all the same. Hand reaching into the confines of his weapons pouch, his fingers slid into a small handful of small shuriken stars. This transactions was barely noticeable as threw his arms towards Souto, letting the stars travel towards him.

The Sound Shinobi simply held out his right hand as the miniscule hole in the middle of his palm produced magnified air and sound, proceeding to blow that stars in Naruto's direction. The said ninja swiftly side-cartwheeled, mid-way catching the stars again as he did so. Though even as he barely managed to finish his movement, Souto was already upon him, already in the motion of swinging his sword down. Naruto had no time to dodge as the sword sliced through him.

It was then that a small puff of smoke emerged, leaving a half cut log to fall towards the ground.

"Hmph." His amused grunt almost hid his slight annoyance.

As a foot collided with the back of his head, Souto flew forward. Mid-air he easily reached his hand out towards the ground, digging his fist within to stop himself. His body flipped over into a crouched posistion as he ruined the ground beneath him before coming to a complete halt. Before he had time to fully stand, Naruto was already upon the crimson-haired ninja, digging a fist into his abdomen. He then aimed a kick, only for Souto to bring up his arms, blocking the foot from making contact with his head. In response to his attack, Souto swiftly moved his fist in to make contact with Naruto's face.

The slight trickle of blood that traveled from his lips did not halt the jinchuriki as he aimed on of his own punches. Souto caught his fist holding it in place, and did so with Naruto's other fist as he executed yet another punch. With both his fists trapped, Naruto waited not even a second before immediately, and with with inhumane speed brining up both his legs. Using the momentum and leverage his trapped hands provided, he shoved the soles of his feet towards his enemy, digging them into the Sound shinobi's face.

The power of the blow sent Souto towards the ground, and caused his to roll a few times before he regained his composure, stopping himself. Obviously upset, Souto dissapeared only to reapear in front of Naruto, his long since discarded blade once again in his hands, and swinging down at Naruto.

Another sliced log fell to the ground.

He looked above to see Naruto coming down on him with a chakra filled punch. His fist made contact, slightly knocking Souto off balance. In his rage, he swung his sword down, only for that Naruto to become another log. His large sword thudded as it hit the ground.

His eyes widened as he felt a searing pain in his back. The feeling spread throughout him, ending at his abdomen. He looked down to see a hand protruding from his chest with blazing chakra surrounding it.

"I don't have time for you." He calmly, yet unhappily said. Souto gasped in pain as Naruto fully tool his arm out from his body, the blonde ninja's arm still outstretched as the ransengan began to fade away.

"Damn y-you.." The Sound shinobi fell to the ground, his gaze still focused on Naruto, who had already began to hastily make his was towards the Konoha gates.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

An armada of Sound ninjas were piling i through the large gap that now adorned Konoha's walls. reigning in with a storm of mass murder and destruction. Kakashi and Might Guy were the only Leaf shinobi there to meet them head on.

Gai's immense speed and hand-to-hand combat skills allowed him to take out many quickly, and effortlessly. He jumped up, executing a spin kick that sent a single shinobi flying into a small group. Immediately he dropped to the ground, avoiding a line of weapons. He let out a trademark, effortless battle cry as he shoved his palm into another ninja.

It was then that his gaze transitioned to Kakashi.

"Twenty-five!"

Kakashi didn't glance at him, his demeanor and appearance calm as he still continued to read his book amidst the fighting. As a pair of shinobi came at him, he simply tossed two kunai in their direction with excellent precision.

"Thirty-two"

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The situation was not that great over at Konoha's entrance. The first line of defense had done very well at first, but the numbers proved to be overwhelming, and order was lost. Both Leaf and Sound were starting to scatter throughout the village. There were many casualties on both sides.

A lone group of shinobi broke away from the crowd, their intentions unknown. The group was met by a big shadow of a black hand, stopping them in their tracks. No struggling freed them from its grasp, the hand hand had slowly started to travel upwards, finding the perfect place for suffocation.

Shikamaru's eyes transitioned to the blonde kunoichi a small distance away from him before making his way towards her.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

When she arrived she was shocked at the massacre of Leaf and Sound nins. They were all spread out, not organized in any way, and the Sound had gotten dangerously close to the civilians, who were now in open space. Hinata and the other Jounins ans Chuunin's with here were with her. This included Naruto, who didn't look to have been there long. Almost immediately he spotted her, and he fought his way over to her.

"Sakura-chan. Are you doing all right?"

"Mhm." Satisfied, Naruto glanced at her once more before making his way back over to Hinata, where he stood by, almost protectively, and fought.

Her emerald eyes followed his movements, a small grin making its way to her face.

Sakura upercutted a nin into the air then jumped up, landing on top of him with both feet digging the nin into the ground. When she heard screaming her head snapped over to the scared civilians. There were too many Sound shinobi to take out one by one. With a small battle cry, she slammed her fist into the ground.

Immediately the earth all around her fist broke up, the pressure in which her hand collided caused a large expanse of its rocks to erupt, engulfing the large group of ninjas. What she didn't notice were the explosive tags all around the area, which were egnited by the force of her attack. She let out a troubled gasp as she noticed the large catalyst explosion traveling towards the civilians.

Hinata immediately made her way in front of the group. Without a word, she brought up her chakra filled hands, moving her arms in pattern-like recesetations.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto called her name, worry evident in his voice.

Trails of chakra were left behind her hand movements, seemingly dissapearing almost instantly. She then started to move her hands in the same spherical motion faster and faster.

_More!_

With her speed, the chakra trails seemed to stay visible, creating what looked to be a sort of barrier. And when it had looked like the explosion had made contact, it was forced to divert its trail as the chakra blocked pasage further. The civilians were too scared and disgruntled for cheering, they immediately continued on the path they were, letting the other Leaf shinobi lead them to safety.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Sorry for the lame ending XD****Yea..next chapter be prepared for unexpected confrontations, the works.**

**Ja ne!**


	5. Chap 4: Sasuke, Confrontations

**A/N: **Thanks for the Reviews! I really appreciate it!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned the Naruto series…. Sasuke would be dancing around in a sailor girl outfit (skirt, etc.) screaming he loved the world because he took WAY too much anti-depression pills... aand things would be a little different..FLUFFINESS! I'd add a little more fluff between Sasu and Saku, but not too much to ruin their character, cause then that'd make it all corny and happpy, and butterflies and rainbows aka GAY

Please Enjoy!

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 4: Sasuke, Confrontations.. **

(o)

(o)

(o)

Far off in the distance beyond all noise, the sun is high, its rays lighting up the sky, whose span was not covered by various patches of clouds; all had retreated with the rising of the giant star. The colors clashing in the sky persuaded the eyes that it was another beautiful day.

But when the eye looks down below the blue sky, there is a blanket of smoke, hovering damaged village. Blood, weapons, mass destruction, all adorned his blown up walls, her small corridors and large streets, of which were filled with clashing ninjas. From them, screams, ragged breathing, the clashing of weapons, all were deafening to the ear. A well prepared army of Sound clashed againt a hastily, unorganized retaliation of Konoha shinobi. All in a battle to the death,where no mercy is at hand. Where the only immediate rest and peace they would find was in death. That was the life of a these Shinobi fighting not on this beautiful day, but on this gruesome, horrible day.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Naruto's fist met his enemy's abdomen in one swift movement, leaving the Sound shinobi to slam into a tree a distance away, uprooting it on contact. The blonde-haired shinobi then took out a large shuriken, simultaneously one of his clones tranformed into another shuriken, falling into his open hand. Naruto crossed his arms breifly, gathering momentum to his attack. He then swiftly jumped up into the air, spinning around before snapping his arms in an outward motion as he let go of the large shuriken. The Shadow windmills crossed eachother in an enormously large figure eight pattern, taking out everything in their path. They grouped back together and took out a big group of Sound nin, cutting through them cleanly.

Naruto's sandals hardly created sound as they made contact with the ground. He was at ease, despite the countless number of Sound that he had been fighting for quite some time. Now, the area around him was clear, mind the small massacre of bodies behind him. He had long since been inside the village clearing out its depths. He stood there for a moment, letting his calm, yet stern eyes scan the area around him. After a small moment eyes twirked as a sensation traveled through his body. He was sensing a huge amount of chakra. traveling in his relative direction. He slightly turned around, letting his eyes scan the area. It was then that he perceived a small dot in the distance coming in his direction. As the big mass of chakra came closer, the familiarity of the chakra grew overwhelming.It was one that he hadn't felt in years.

He immediately stopped, his hairs standing on end.

He watched the figure intensly, noticing that it seemed to be in a hurry,coming closer at a very rapid pace. It wasn't long before the figure was upon him, it was then that it seemed to go in slow motion as two pairs of eyes shared glances. As Naruto stood still, the figure right at his side was slightly leaning forwards in his sprint, one foot planted on the ground. This transaction onlty lasted a second as they to locked gazes. For that breif moment, Naruto's cerulean eyes locked onto the figure, a quick flash of Deep Red sharingan clouding his view.

As the figure continued to speed away, Naruto continued to stand still, his cerulean eyes suprisingly calm, yet stern, contemplative. It took a moment before he casually, yet foreboding turned his body in the direction to which the figure that passed him had retreated.

_Sharingan..._

He watched as the figure dissapeared in the distance. When he was out of view, Naruto's stern eyes traveled to the ground as he seemed to contemplate something. He transitioned his gaze to look off in an other direction as he could see more fighitng. After another breif moment, he looked off in the the direction in which the figure had retreated to, a determined spark in the depths of his eyes.

_Sasuke_

He took off running in the direction to which the figure had retreated.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Hinata's pearl eyes followed the retreating back of Naruto.

She was a bit perplexed at how he had took off so suddenly, before so he was looking behind him as if someone had passed him, but she didn't see a thing. Only the wide changed, like a breeze. But with her training, even though she couldn't see it, Hinata knew that it was something more than that.

And because she knew Naruto was following someone, she decided to follow him. A little something more than a feeling of forboding consumed her.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

His deep obsidian eyes held a spark of calmness, coldness. His body movements were calm, yet graceful, fast. He seemed to be looking for someone. Though at the speed he was traveling it seemed impossible to percive any figure, caught in the blur of his movements.

**Flashback**

The space, a room seemingly, reflected nothing but darkness, the only source of light a small, old lamp swaying gently from the ceiling at the center of the room. Its slight swaying brought on infrequent noises of creaking. In the corner of the dark room, the portrayal of a figure could be seen, his golden eyes shining brightly. A few feet in front of him, two figures easily discernable by the light reflecting off of them, stood, seemingly waiting. One's head was adorned with shiny silver hair, and after moments of continous standing, he brought up a hand to push the glasses abridge his nose up further. The tall figure standing next to him was undisceranable, his height brining his face into the darkness, though his eyes shined gold like the ones which he was looking at.

"I don't believe Sasuke will want to join you two, but a there are ways to persaude- ."

"Persuade me to what?" Another figure flickered into view as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere into the dark, spacious room. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the wall behind, one leg crossed over the other; he appeared calmm casualistic. His deep obsidian eyes were trained one the figure to which he demanded an answer.

"Oh Sasuke, what a suprise."

"What do you want."He asked impassively while cutting off the one speaking. The figure chuckled, obviously amused at the way he was acting.

"You three, will be going on a mission for me. And with you will come our entire army of Sound...Konoha will be no more."

No change occured in any of his features, no sound came from his closed lips. He only continued to gaze directly into the snake-sannin's gaze, his deep obsidian orbs unwavering, unblinking.

"Is that a problem Sasuke-_kun?_"

"This mission of yours is not going to happen." He repsonded calmly, impassively.

"Oh?" Orichimaru inquired, his tone mocking, and humorous. Even as he laughed, Sasuke did nor said nothing. "Sasuke-kun.." Orichimaru chuckled. " If you don't go, how are you going to get stronger? I beleive that can only happen if I am there to give it to you yes? Power? Traning? But i must be willing, and i certainly will not if you do not do what i ask." He grinned sadisticly thinking he had caught the Uchiha's attention, as well as his submission. Though it would have been impossible to see through Sasuke's emotionless facade.

It was then that Sasuke spoke.

"Maybe what I said was too hard for you to comprehend," He started, voice stoic, yet stern, foreboding. "I'm not going on this little mission...and neither are any of you. " He let his peircing eyes transition to Kabuto and Souto for a long moment. There seeemd to be a hidden threat.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, why would you not wish to travel to Konoha? Don't tell me you still have ties to that place you once called home... Or is it the certain **people** in Konoha? A former best friend? Or a an annoying kunoichi?…do tell me." His twisted laugh slightly echoed amidst the rooms concrete walls.

It was silent for a moment, Sasuke said nothing. His onyx eyes were hidden by his bangs, his head slightly tilted down for that sole purpose. Though he made no other movement.

"If I find that you go," He serious gaze transitioned to the two figures not too far away. " Not one member of your army will come out alive."

He began to walk out. Though he paused after a few steps, letting his head turn as he glanced over his shoulder.

"And I could care less about that place or its people." With that, he continued walking, his hands coveted in his pockets as he casually walked.

"Oh well that will turn out to be quite a problem Sasuke-kun…" Orochimaru seemingly threatened.Sasuke kept on walking, not showing any sign that the heard, or cared for that matter."Seeing as they are most-likely already there.."

It was then that Sasuke stopped.

Looking back out of the corner of his eyes, the two figures once standing before Orochimar as dissapeared in a puff of smoke similar to that of the creation and decease of a clone. Orichimaru started laughing maniacally as The Uchiha prodigy wasted no time and disappeared from view, his destination assumable.

**End Flashback**

Everything that was happening right now was due to him. He hasn't been careful enough, he hadn't watched Orochimaru closer, noticed his intentions. He didn't exactly cared about what happened here, but when his eyes caught sight of the destruction, he found an anger growing inside him; it seemed to come from more than just the consequence of a ruined plan that he had been stategizing for quite some time.

After all these years he still hadn't found Itachi. But he knew he was getting closer each time. He knew Itachi was part of a group called the Akatsuki, he had done his research. He also remembered years ago when he and that other named Kisame had come for Naruto, for the Kyuubi. They had failed. But he had no doubt they would come again. And he was waiting for it. But now, that plan seemed useless. They would not risk esposure, and they would not come to a ravaged village, where security and many people would be alert, and in numerous places. Though they were coldblooded killers, they were not looking for war. The Akatsuki was not looking for war.

His thoughts halted, as did his body. Although abrubt, his stance, his face, all held the unemotional stoicness as he stood there, his eyes trained ahead of him. The figure coming up behind him also slowed down to a halt, stopping a few feet away from him. Sasuke's obsidian eyes neither wavered, nor turned to look at his pursuer.

"Naruto, huh."

Naruto stood there for a moment, letting his stern, grave cerualean eyes examine the full grown, eighteen-year-old Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke…" His voice mimicked that of Sasuke, no discernable tone nor emotion adorning his face. Only seriouness graced his movements, his eyes; and they slightly twitched as Sasuke moved, turning his body to face him. He unconsiously pickied out the Uchiha's recognizable features, along with newly acquired ones.

Sasuke's boyish demeanor from years ago had changed almost completley. His jawbone more defined, his facial features even more handsome if possible. The familiar quality of his hair was unchanging, the stubbornly spiked locks pointing in uncannily well places, his perfectly lengthed bangs framing his face. Where the Uchiha once hovered a few inches above him, he did not, their height easily comparable to the same.

"Been a long time..dobe."

"Teme... What the hell are you doing here?" His voice was calm, quite unlike the younger Naruto who would have already resorted to shouting and accusations.

"Though I'd come here for a small visit. I see you all haven't been taking good care of the place." He was referring to the destruction that rocked Konoha, changing its landscape and perfection completley. Naruto didn't head his sarcastic remark as another inquiry sounded his lips.

"Are you here with the Sound.. attacking your home?" The slight shakiness of his voice perspired through his hold, showing the slowly rising contempt, uneasily witheld from his voice.

"Aa…I would bring myself down to that pety level, wouldn't I."

Naruto slightly paused, his cerulean eyes slightly twitching again as he observed Sasuke. He had become a lot more sarcastic, he didn't know what he was being honest about, if he was being honest at all. He gained no releif at any of his words. He remained silent seemingly guessing that Sasuke might say more if he kept his silence.

"No. I have no ties Sound and their pathetic beleifs." Sasuke did continue, this time, sarcasim did not seem included in his arsenal of speech.

"Then why are you-." Naruto stopped as he caught sight of Sasuke's calm eyes traveling to look at someone coming towards them. His head turned to look in the direction behind him, slightly widening as he did so. He took one more weary glance at Sasuke before dissapearing, reapearing in front of Hinata.

She halted upon his appearance.

"Naruto-kun!" As she said his name, her worried pearl eyes looked over in slight suprise to Sasuke. She could tell if was him from afar, but closer it almost seemed unreal.

"Stay back Hinata-chan.." Naruto spoke in a very dangerous voice. His eyes had remained trained on Sasuke, even as he warned her. He seemed ready to drop into fighting stance at any moment, the conflict between the two former friends seemed to steadily rise, even as they calmly spoke to one another. The other already seemed to know such a thing would end in battle.

"Hn...So you've finally got yourself a girlfriend, have you?"His humor was dry as his eyes scanned Hinata before lazily refocusing on Naruto. Unheringly, sublty, Naruto moved his body silghtly in front of Hinata, a form of protection. Though the slight redness of his cheeks was noticeable.

"You say that like you have one. Why not? The Sound not have enough women to swoon over you?" Naruto countered, his voice all the more serious.

"Like I would care about that.." Sasuke quipped back with ease. There mere subject seemed to annoy him.

As soon as Sasuke said this, a small group of figures appeared behind them. They were adorned in standard shinobi unifrom, yet the headband bracing their head held the insignia of the sound. Subtly Sasuke's eyes snapped to them, his eyes staying trained on them as he continued to stare at them coldly.

Slight anger flashed through Naruto's eyes as he saw this.

"Liar."

As soon as he said this, all the Sound shinobi had dropped to the ground. For normal eyes, the events that had just transpired would not have been determined; though, Naruto slightly turned his head to the side as his speculative eyes slightly twitched, studying Sasuke. His trained eyes had cleary seen Sasuke kill the Sound which had been behind him with excellent speed, with no amount of mercy or moment of hesitance. No Sound was made from the amazingly speedy event. Sasuke's voice was the one to break the silence.

"I only came to Orochimaru for power and nothing else. Though he provided little, resulting in my discontinued invovlment with him long ago." His voice was uncaring.

"Then why are you here?"Naruto again asked calmly.He had a bad feelinga bout Sasuke's intentions of coming here to Konoha. What could he possibly want now? From what he recalled, Sasuke didn't want to be part of Konoha anymore.

"_My childish games with you Leafs are over."_

Naruto growled. The last match he had with Sasuke still was a painful memory for him, one he had buried behind him, but as he stood before Sasuke, the memory re-opened just as raw as the exact day it had occured. Along with that memory came an image of Sakura, her hands clasped together as her emerald eyes held his.

"_Naruto I beg you."_

"_Please, please bring Sasuke-kun back."_

This time, Sasuke did not answer his former friend. With one last cold look, he turned, walking away casually with his hands in his pockets, seemingly uncaring, and not worried of Naruto's possible attack. For him, they had already determined who was stronger, via that battle the two had took part in all those years ago. The outcome, no matter what thetime difference, would still be the same.

"I'm not going to waste my time fighting you , Naruto" He kept on walking.

Naruto's cerulean eyes watched the retreating figure, a deep noise of agitation rumbling in his throat. Never taking his eyes off Sasuke, he brought his hand up to light touch Hinata, gently giving her a push away from him.

"Get away from here Hinata." She looked at him for a moment, her shimmering eyes filling with worry, a breif moment of contemplation. She obeyed, looking at him one last time before sprinting away, she seemed to be in a hurry, and not for her safety or will to leave the area; an idea seemed to grace her mind.

After contemplation, Naruto slowly reached into his weapons pouch, pulling out a headband. His eyes never once left Sasuke's retreating back. As he pulled the headband out, it shined, reflecting the glare from the sun high above, the insignia of the leaf becoming prominent, along with the long, irreparable scratch encarved in it.

"Sasuke." He called, not waiting for the Uchiha to stop as he simply tossed the headband in his direction.

It was then that Sasuke stopped, his back still facing him as his hand swiftly came up, catching the headband. He then brought the headband down, seemingly to look at it..

"I promised someone that I would bring you back, and only in a fight between two **Konoha** ninjas."

"Still holding on two your twice-failed promises. Twice includes the battle that you will lose now if you still choose to battle." Sasuke's back still faced him. Naruto said nothing, his burning cerulean eyes still focused on the Uchiha. After the slight moment of silence his voice broke the air.

"You can't defeat me. Don't kid yourself." Though, after a moment, Sasuke still tied the headband on. He closed his eyes, tilting his head up towards the sky.

Realizing Sasuke's acception of battle, Naruto repositioned his headband. Unlike in the past, he did not lower down into a fighting stance, he need not to.

"Sasuke, there is still a place for you in Konoha, and i'll make sure you realize that..."

It was silent for a moment as the Uchiha heir took a moment to think. This fight would ineviatably be like the one they had at " The Valley of the Dead", same outcome, even injuries. But there was one thing that Sasuke knew would be different.One of them was going to die. Naruto was going to die. This time he would not walk away.

"heh..dobe." His cold voice boke the silence.

Sasuke turned his head around, staring at Naruto from the corner of his eyes. Naruto was met with cold red eyes, the Sharingan glaring prominently.It was then that Sasuke dissapeared.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Her small gasps for air were hardly discernable as she continued to run, as she had been for quite some time now. She had to find help, any help, and fast. The two were probably already battling by now, and if she no one got to them in time..

_Naruto-kun..don't die!_

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura's pink-colored hair flaired about as she fell down with an enemy, her kunai digging into him. As she flipped up, she ducked under Kakashi's fist as he was in the motion of delivering a punch, delivering her own punch to the one right beside her former Sensei. She was fighting along side him, only them dealing with the countless amount of enemies swarming their area. Kakashi held no book in his hand.

Both their eyes, while still fighting, transitioned to look at the non-hostile figure approaching them at a fast speed.

"Hinata-chan." Sakura's bewildered voice greeted her comrade as she halted, breathing heavily. Hinata seemed suprised to see her as well, as if she were to continue running had not Sakura called her. Kakashi noticed the panicked look on the young woman's face.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" He inquired before sending a kunai into another oncoming shinobi.

Hinata seemed hesitant in telling them, or it seemed it was more so telling Sakura. She didn't know how Sakura would react to news about Sasuke.

"What, Hinata-chan?"

Realizing she had no time, and that Sakura deserved to know, Hinata took one last recouperating breath.

"S-Sasuke's here! Him and Naruto are f-fighting! I'm trying to find the Hokage-sama!"

Sakura's eyes did not widen, yet something flickered in their depths, along with the realization. Kakashi's eyes did not change, only slightly narrowed before his gaze transtioned to Sakura. She didn't say anything, so he took the liberty.

"Where?"

"Further west, in a clearing that overlooks Konoha!." Sakura's eyes seemed to cloud over again as she took in the information, and Kakashi nodded his head in acceptance.

"Hinata-san," He started, voice cheerful. "Go to Tsunade and get help-"

Both his and Hinata's attention was diverted as their gazes snapped to Sakura, who had just bolted from her posistion. It was clear where she was headed. Hinata took one last worried glance after Sakura before taking her hurried leave as well.

It was the battle cry coming towards him that diverted Kakashi's attention away from Sakura, who had long since been out of eyes view. He effortlessly dug his fist into the enemy.

_I'll be there soon, Sakura._

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

It was silent as Naruto waited for Sasuke to attack. His chin was slightly tilte down towards his chest as his stern eyes stared in front of him, seriouness directing his moves. A small breeze that suddenly whistled towards the clearing tickled the leaves on the trees not to far away. but Naruto knew better. He calmly reached into his weapon's pouch, slightly twitching his eyes as he turned to meet a kunai with is own.

"You can't beat me Naruto." Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he swiftly moved his head to dodge a punch, in turn, he aimed a kick of his own, only to have it caught in place by by Naruto. Not waiting another moment, Sasuke brought up his other leg, delivering a kick to Naruto's head. Naruto fell back a few feet, barely touching the ground before using his had to execute a back flip, landing on all fours.

"Just as I thought." Sasuke announced, seeminlgy dissapointed.

Without uttering a word, cerulean eyes trained on Sasuke, he got up.

"It's been too long Sasuke...don't expect to be fighting the same Naruto you fought all those years ago!" He charged at Sasuke, kunai in hand. Sasuke did the same as their weapons clashed again. Sasuke immediately punched Naruto, he flew back a tree being the only thing to break his fall.

"Doesn't that also mean that you haven't fought the same Sasuke you fought all those years ago?" He did a few hand seals "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu" His chest and mouth inflated, shooting out huge fireballs that were homing in on Naruto.Naruto did a few one haded cartwheels to escape them, but the fireballs were to fast so he came out with a few burns here and there.

"Don't waste your time...or mine."

Naruto slowly stood up from his crouched posistion, cerulean eyes burning, yet determined. "..I made a promise to Sakura-chan.."

For some reason, hearing his former female teamate's name made Sasuke pause for a second, leaving him open for an unexpected punch by Naruto. He flew back a few feet before executing a backflip to land on all fours.

"I promised her that I would bring you back. I have yet to break it, and I won't." Even as he said this, his cerulean eyes slightly squinted, almost speculatively as he realized Sasuke's former pause.

"Sad how you still think that it possible. It may have been once, but even at that time, you **and **Sakura failed to do so. What makes you think you can now?" His inquiry was cold, emotionless.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Her emerald eyes flickered with worry, anxiety as she continued to run towards the distance sound of battling. She didn't know why she had set off without thinking. She tried to reason with herself, convince herself that it was because she was worried for Naruto. It was true, she was deeply worried for him, she didn't want him to get hurt. But the news at Sasuke being there as well, it pulled her, lead her to run without weighing her options, without waiting for help. Naruto couldn't wait for help...She couldn't wait for help.

Her breathing was calm, her foots' meeting with the ground soft and controlled. She was trying her hardest to keep a reign on herself, despite the overwhelming sensations traveleing throuhgout her body. All gut wrenching.

As the trees on either side whizzed past her, the large clearing soon started inching over the long horizon of the path she was on, the loud noised of the fighting that ensued growing louder with each moment. A feeling of dread was coursing through her body, an uncanny foreboding feeling, foreshadowing to the upcoming events.

...ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sasuke looked around lazily at the huge mass of Naruto clones that surrounded him. He looked annoyed, unimpressed.

"I would have thought you learned new tricks, dobe."

Naruto had no intention of replying. The Naruto clones all yet out the harmounous battle cries as they ran towards Sasuke. One hit Sasuke, and without waiting the clone army started to pummel Sasuke, knocking him to the ground. Naruto said nothing as he watched, he didn't look at all releived to see Sasuke getting pummeled. Something wasn't right. He still said nothing as Sasuke stood up, he seemingly expected the Uchiha too.

Sasuke slowly smirked,wiping the stream of blood flowing from his chin

"I can see why that pathetic technique is yours. ." Sasuke seemed unhurt, unfazed by the attack from the small armada of Narutos. Naruto seemed well aware of this, even before he had summoned the clones. It was almost as if he summoned the clones to by himself some more time. More time to think, contemplate something. His mind flashed back to that breif moment in which Sasuke had paused, the moment he had mentioned a certain kunoichi's name.

"She left for a long time trying to find you, you know."

The Uchiha's eyes slightly squinted in speculation, and he said nothing, only bolted towards Naruto to enitiate battle. Though, even amids their hand-to-hand combat, Naruto still continued to speak.

"I never really understood why. Why she would throw away everything for a bastard who never appreciated her. Only proved to hurt and put her down every chance he got-"

"Are you done yet.?" Sasuke had interupted him, he seemed greatly annoyed, though his feigned impatience was uncanny. He doged another punch, this time swinging a fist at Naruto. "It was her fault for being too naive and stupid to realize that she was only wasting her time." Sasuke used immense speed to deliver the next punch to Naruto, the force of the blow sent the blonde-haired ninja a ways back. He landed on all fours, using friction for the ground to slow him to a stop. His cerulean eyes were almost confused, curious.

"Was she wasting yours?"

"I could care less about Sakura, or what she's done, or who she's been with."

Naruto watched solemly, silently, as Sasuke's fist splayed out towards the ground. Only when that Sasuke dissapeared, and the sound of birds chirping invaded his ears did his cerulean eyes look to his side. Sasuke, with chidori revolving around his hand, was advancing on him with immense speed. Though, he wasn't suprised, and he didn't seem troubled. There was something else that perplexed him, filled him with wonder, realization.

"You didn't answer my question.." He mumbled to himself.

His cerulean eyes reflected the the staticky chakra coming towards him.Sasuke was so close he could almost feel the enourmous energy tingling his skin, all her could hear was the Chidori, and the last throught that crossed his mind.

_I also didn't ask if you cared about her..._

As the blinding light seemed to consume him, Naruto didn't seem scared, or suprised, his eyes just had a grave look to them. He had just realized something, one thing that had made him wrong about everything. Something about Sasuke he thought never possible, something the Uchiha himself may not have even realized.

_And i never said it was Sakura.._

It was then that the large explosion shook the earth, the blinding light flashing throughout the clearing.

The clearing of the light left visual to Sasuke, fist still dug into the ground. He was still, his gaze focused on the area to the side of him.

Naruto's suprised gaze, from his posistion on the ground, was focused on the pink mass of hair resting on his chest. His savior had her arms wrapped around his waist, the side of her face pressed against his stomach. She was holding on for dearlife.

"S-Sakura-chan." She lifted her head to meet his faze, the facial expression very unreadable.

It was then that the resounding slap could be heard.

"You could have dodged that attack, baka! Why didn't you move, you could have.." The tears breilfy twinkled at the corner of her eyes. "BAKA!"

"Why did you come here, it's too dangerous!" He immediately shot back. The worry clearly evident.

"Saving your butt is what it looks like!"

"I could have easily dodged that if i wanted to Sakura-chan."

"Then why didn't you?! Are you going suicidal now?"

Emotionless eyes still focused on the bickering duo, Sasuke pulled his fist from out of the ground. When he proceeded to stand fully, his eyes transitioned from them to his wrist as he used his other hand to grasp it before moving it around its socket. He then glanced back to them, his deep obsidian eyes feigning impatience as he met gazes with Naruto.

Naruto didn't say anything as he lifted both himself, and Sakura to their feet. His stern eyes were focused on Sasuke. There was something about the way he had saw the Uchiha look at Sakura, something had flashed in his eyes for the breifest moment, he couldn't place it. It only proved to add more suspicion to an idea.

Her emerald eyes were now focused on Sasuke. She copied his demeanor, though her eyes betrayed it all as they continued to slightly waver. They only proved to do so more as his cold gaze met hers.

"Sakura, huh.." His tone was all the more impassive, though he feigned slight amusement.

Finding reign on herself, Sakura let out a deap breath before steadying her eyes, making them unreadable, her demeanor, her countenance stoic, yet speculative.She said nothing to him.

"You know, you really are annoying." The stiffening of her body was hardly noticeable. Those words, the same he had alway used.The last thing he said to her four years ago.And the first thing he says to her when he comes back. Her emerald eyes stayed trained on his, she seemed glued to her spot. It was silent for another moment, and Sasuke seemed to be getting impatient at the silence.

It was then that he disspared. Not even a second passed before he was in front of Sakura.

She could feel the heat radiating from him as he stood in front of her, his head was to the side of hers, his obsidian eyes looking straight ahead. His breath tickled her ear as he spoke.

"Sakura, get out of the way." He calmly said.

All she could hear was the beating of her heart, and her calm, yet almost ragged breath. Even with his body heat, the moist and coldness of a breeze that swept by caused to involuntarily shiver.

"Why..are you here?"

"Interfere again, and I will kill you." Just as Sasuke was about to deliver a warning punch to Sakura, Naruto came in, aiming an attack, causing Sasuke to evade. He jumped away, landing lightly in the soft grass before him. Sakura still did not move from her spot, her eyes transitioned to Sasuke's new posistion.

"You didn't even become strong enough to protect yourself, Sakura."

"Sakura-chan, get out of here."

Instead of doing what her teammate told he to do, she remained glued to her spot. Her eyes were obscured from view as she lowered her head. She could hdr the growl of dicontempt in his throat.

"Let me fight, Naruto." She glanced back at him, putting a small smile on her face. "Let me fight this time."

"Are you really that anxious to die?" Sasuke asked, indicating more to the pink haired Kunoichi. She lifted her head up so that her eyes would be visible once more only to stare calmly at both of her former teammates.

"Naruto…" She started, her eyes still focused on Sasuke, who seemed to be waiting for her words as well. "You don't trust me do you?" aruto only quirked his brows in response, indicating that he didn't understand what she meant. Of course he trusted her.

"You think that I left to take a vacation, Naruto."

Dead silence.

She had grown tired of having people protect her. For once in her life in Konoha, she wanted to risk her own life for the people who cared about her. A lot of things happened over the years, she was not the same. Maybe now was the time to show them. She wasn't proving herself to them, she was showing them some things that they did not know about her, that they did not expect. That's what made this moment even more important. Naruto had had his shot at the promise, it was her turn now.

"..Maybe you have changed Sakura." Sasuke started, seemingly interested."We'll have to see then," He paused as he took out a kunai. "How strong you really are."Regaining his composure, he smirked at his target. Sakura's emerald eyes studied Sasuke, revealing nothing. After a moment she lowered down into a battle stance, signaling he could attack.

_I never would have imagined.._

Sasuke immediately dissapeared.

Instead of remaining in battle stance, Sakura stood tall, closing her eyes.

_things would happen like this...that I_

A slight current of wind swept into the clearing, swaying the leaves of the trees surrounding them on either side, even the blades of grass danced in rythm to the wind. Even as her hair and clothes swayed along with the wind, she stood completley still. After a few moments, her eyebrows twitched, in que with the change in the current of the wind.

It was then that her eyes shot open.

She swiftly moved backwards evading the attack that was purposely aimed for her. For a split second it was in slow motion a she saw sasuke with his arm still outstretched, and his sharingan eyes staring at her, before he dissapered again. This time, when he appeared, Sakura aimed a punch of her own. Sasuke dodged, leaving her fist to to meat the ground beneath her, breaking up a huge area of earth beneath her fist. Sasuke landed a few feet away, looking at the torn up ground before her. His amused look transitioned to her calm gaze.

_**I** would be fighting the man I love._

"Hn..seems like you actually trained a bit didn't you Sakura?"

_That I'd be the one to protect_

Somehow, deep inside, against all her instincts and morals, she believed that she could bring Sasuek back…but then at the same time she believed that no one ever could. He was different now, colder than he had ever been. But she would not allow him to leave them ..leave her.

_You from yourself._

_Maybe because i always thought that happy endings..could happen_

Another silence ensued. She was about to add more until his cold voice broke the silence.

She looked to see Sasuke coming towards her with immense speed. He came at her with a combo of punches and kickes, leaving her only to dodge. But she was too unprepared and he landed a powerful blow to the face, sending her a few feet away.

_That friends stayed friends forever_

Blood started trailing down her chin, dripping onto the grass before her. Though her eyes reamined on Sasuke as she used the back of her hand to wipe it off before slowly standing up. A smirk adorning his face, Sasuke seemingly dissapeared once again.

Her emerald eyes glanced behind her, gazing into worried cerulean eyes. She was releived that he was giving her a chance, a change to prove herself. To fight for something she wanted, if she really did still want it. She gave him a small smile before turning back to her front, letting out a deep breath before closing her eyes once again.

For some reason, she had always known that something like this would happen, that after all these years, their reuniion would be in battle. She had worked this hard, trained this hard, all for this moment. He had changed, he was completley different, even though he was the same.

_That maybe petals could melt the ice..but i never even began to imagine..._

She had to do this. There was no other way. Her feelings didn't matter. This wasn't about her, this wasn't about Sasuke. It was about this battle. The battle to decide it all.

_That when it came down to it..you would kill me without hesitation_

The slight breeze had suddenly picked up, rustling the trees all around, robbing it of its green leaves. And when the first leave passed her face, her eyes slowly opened.

They were not her normal emerald color, but a glowing pink.

* * *

**THanks for reading. **

**Wowza..that was a really long chapter. Crazay. **

**Oh and you didn't read wrong, it totally said pink. That her eyes were kinda glowing pink. Pretty strange. What does it mean? Oh snaps.**

**Umm, expect a chapterby like Friday no writing on Thursday.ThanksGiving! But ya so everybody have a wonderful Turkey Day!**


	6. Chap 5: Sakura vs Sasuke

**A/N:** Hey thanks so much for the reviews, it really boosts the spirit and makes me want to update faster! It really does, so if ya don't mind, keep em comin!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of the Naruto series…except Sasuke

**Behind the Smile:**

**Chapter 5: Sakura vs Sasuke: Petals vs Ice**

(o)

(o)

(o)

_I never would have imagined.._

_Things would happen like this…that I_

_I would be fighting the man I love_

_That'd I'd be the one to protect _

_You from yourself._

_Maybe because I always thought that fairytale endings.. could happen_

_That friends stayed friends forever._

_That maybe petals could melt the ice..but I never even began to imagine…_

_That when it came down to it……_

_You would _kill_ me without hesitation._

His Sharingan eyes squinted slightly, speculativerly as his gaze fixated onto her pink, brightly glowing orbs.

It was then that Sakura bolted from her posistion, finding herself upon him instantly. Matching her newfound speed, Sasuke took out his own kunai, meeting hers. The sound of their clashing weapons echoed throughout the clearing, the sparks shooting out before dissapearing. He seemed slightly taken back yet, his eyes all the more observant as he noticed the complete change in her fighting style. They weren't predictable at all whatsoever. But with his mastered Sharingan he could easily she her movements, and with his superior abilities and speep he could keep up with her.

Sasuke immediately used his free hand out another kunai, waiting no moment before starting its decent towards Sakura. Her petal-colored eyes snapped to the kunai.

_I can see!_

The kunochi gripped the blade with her hand, stopping its descent towards her. No flinch stunned her body as the blood started dripping from her wounded hand onto the ground. Her hand still tightly gripped the blade as Sasuke conintued to apply pressure to it. Their gazes met, Sasuke's emotionless Sharingan not hinting to any suprise. Though he did feign his interest, possibly in the fact that she would be able to put up a fight, resulting in a battle that maybe wasn't a waste of his time after all.

Letting out a small battle cry, and still holding the kunai in place, she brought up her knee, letting it collied with Sasuke's gut. The attack sent both of them, Sakura forward and Sasuke backward, falling to the ground. Both wasted no time and disapeared from their posistions on the ground, only to reapear a few feet away from eachother. With amazing speed the Uchiha was already upon her, his fist moving in for the punch.

Using all the speed she could muster, Sakura leaned back , leaving Sasuke to slightly lean forward, over her as his fist shoved into thin air. It seemed to go in slow motion as the kunoich used incredible core strenght, as well as infused chakra to boost her lower body upwards, catapulting in the form of the backflip. She used her legs, gripping on either side of Sasuke's waist, causing them both to flip over. The result placed the pink-haired woman on top of Sasuke.

They both slightly froze, Sakura tensing up as she straddled his waist. She could feel his-. Her disgruntled eyes shot to Sasuke emotionless gaze, his stoic demeanor unshaken, his cold eyes unwavering.

He dissapeared from underneath her, leaving the stunned kunoichi to drop a few centimeters to the earth beneath her. Her head snapped to Sasuke as he reapeared above her, aiming a downwards kick. She immediately executed a backflip, letting her feet lightly touched the ground before dissapearing, only to reapear a few feet away.

Sasuke stood up fully, his silent gaze calmly fixated on her. He seemed to be waiting for her to strike first, his patience forever.

She couldn't help it. She had to. Even if just for the sake of doing it. Words may not have been what he wanted, but they also had a way of persuading, even if it took a while for the point to sink in. And she didn't wish to fight him, she really didn't want to fight him. Words were her first option in this matter.

"Sasuke..Itachi can be found by all of us. I know how important the battle is for you, you can fight it alone, but i don't see any reason in secluding yourself from everyone."

"I don't need you to take care of me." His voice was laced with venom, coldness, yet still all the like unemotional. He was not going to change his mind. The anger, the revenge that ran through his veins, a part of him, would never be stripped. The memories, the scars forever etched in his mind, his soul. He sought eternal relief from his revenge, though he did not know it would only result in more pain for him, more needless suffering. There was too much hurt, to much hatred for it to all simply vanish. And Itachi was his brother, how would he not greive over that?

He need friends, loved ones. But they were useless if he did not want them. His heart yearned for more power, not love.

"..It won't releive all your pain and suffering Sasuke, please beleive me."

"Don't tell me what something will and won't do for me, you know nothing."

"You're becoming just like him Sasuke!"

It was then that the Uchiha paused, seemingly at a loss for words. Sakura let her pink eyes fade into shimmering emerald.

"You say you want to rid the world of such a horrible man. And to do that, you've had to do horrible things, just like him. Itachi threw away his life, his family, clan, friends, all for power, game. He killed other innocent people, and still is. He bears no emotion for any living soul. He's already destroyed his life, and he's destroying yours, can't you see that?"

Sasuke still said nothing, his emotionless eyes fixated on Sakura.

"You've thrown away your life, your friends, you home, all for the sake of power. Now you are killing innocent people, and even seeking to kill Naruto, me. You're hurting yourself, others. You're letting yourself suffer, live in pain, Sasuke.. And i can't bear that!" The cry in her voice as she spoke was unmistakable. "Don't you realize that once you kill Itachi, you'll only replace him if you continue on like this?"

She couldn't help the slight twinkle of tears that glistened in the corners of her eyes.

"Please beleive me, Sasuke...I don't want you to hurt anymore."

It was then that Sasuke let his face obscure from view, for what reasons were unknown.

"What do you expect to happen Sasuke? Tell me what you expect to gain from killing Itachi, what do you expect to feel? Releif? Tell me what releif you will gain from wiping out what's left of you clan, killing your only brother? Satisfaction? Pride over the fact that you were powerful enough to defeat such a skilled shinobi?I don't see any happiness in that. In the end it all comes back to killing your brother, the man you used to adore.Your glory would be shortlived, Sasuke. And only bring more suffering."

Her eyes wavered as she looked at his obscured face. A breif moment passed before he lifted his head. There was no change to his emotionless facade, he seemed unfazed her her words. His Sharingan eyes were even colder.

"Why don't you tell me, Sakura... When did i ever mention...wanting happiness?" His tone was all the more impassive, cold. "If I had wanted happiness, don't you think i would have maybe accepted one of your pathetic attempts to date me?" Sakura's face slightly twitched, her eyes wavering even more so. "I know your logic of thinking, Haruno Sakura. Stop playing games with yourself...and let me clear this up for you one last time." He let his Sharingan eyes fade into deep obsidian.

"I never had feelings for you when you were a pathetic, annoying little girl with nothing to do but fawn over boys. I don't and won't have feelings for you now, as respected kunochi who has been wasting her time trying to get stronger to impress me...Even after all these years..'In the end it all comes back to' you holding on to your useless crush and attempts at gaining my affection."

Sakura's solemn gaze was still fixated on Sasuke, and she did nothing to hide her slight sadness, acceptance. Though when she replied her voice was calm, contradicting.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Naruto's solemn gaze held the two, his ears tuned in to everything that was said. His cerulean eyes held a sort of knowing, understanding.

"You seem to be the only one who's concerned with feelings here, Sasuke. "

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

"...My feelings don't matter, I know that...but that's not what this is about. I'm talking to you as a friend, as a former teamate. I want to help you, that's all. I want you to be happy, and it doesn't matter how that happens, as long as you are happy...and killing Itachi won't make you happy, not at all...a-and even if you can't be happy, the least thing i could ask for is that you not suffer any longer.."

"You know, you're really starting to annoy me." His tone held that of finality, "This meaningless exchange of words is over." He swiftly grabbed a kunai from his pouch, and he expertly flung it in her direction.

She clearly saw it coming, yet she did nothing, moved not an inch. Her facial expression was perfectly calm, yet her emerald eyes were not hiding any sadness that she was feeling at the moment, the silent acception flickering in their depths.

The kunai whizzed past her face, slightly grazing the outermost part of her cheek, producing a slight paper cut as it did to. A few of her cherry blossom locks were cut free, flowing out as the wind carried them to the ground.

It was obvious that the kunai wans't meant to hit her, but it was expected of Sakura to move, and she didn't.

"Next time I won't miss, Sakura."

Her solemn eyes studied the serious Uchiha, knowing that he wasn't bluffing. Though what concerned her was the fact that he hadn't intended to hit her with the first one. That he still had that slight idea similar to mercy. Ties...Maybe.

"I want to talk you out of continuing on the path you are on, Sasuke..I want to help you-"

"Did you think i was kidding?" His voice was slightly perplexed, yet all the more emotionless. "I do not need or want your help. Talk with you is meaningless."

His eyes slightly narrowed as he took out another kunai. Like before he made it look like a simple toss as he flung the kunai towards her. With excellent precision the weapon centered on Sakura as it progressed closer. Again, Sakura did not move, she was planted stationary, her solemn, yet accepting gaze still focused on Sasuke.

The kunai was halted in its movement when the pink-maned kunoichi swiftly brought up her injured hand, grasping the kunai before expertly twirling it to position in her hand. Her emerald gaze had never left Sasuke, even as they returned to their glowing petal color.

"...Then fight me."

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

On the outside his stance, his figure, his stillness was reminiscent of someone who was calm, patient.

Though's Naruto's deep cerulean eyes were burning, flickering with worry and anticipation, anxiety. At the same time there was also acceptance, even a hint of patience. He knew he would not interfere, no matter how much he wanted too.

_"Just trust me…"_

He did trust her, and she deserved more than anything this chance, a chance to do things the way she had wanted. To finally try and set things right. She needed this. She had needed to see Sasuke, talk with him; and whether it was growing closer of finally letting him go, it would be as it was fated to be. After this there would be no more if's or maybe's. And it was for the best.

It was all up to her, whether Sasuke came back to Konoha or not.

It was up to the petals to melt the ice.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

She let out a small battle cry as she fell from the sky, fist propped for an attack, Sasuke below her. With exellent speed he dodged her fist, leaving it to slam into the ground. Upon contact, the earth yards in front of her broke up.

Immediately she dissapeared coming for him again, aiming another punch. Sasuke easily caught her fist, holding it in place.They both immediately took out a kunai with their free hands, clashing in turn. Like before, she left no room to try and overpower the other.She swiftly elbowed Sasuke in the gut, using his moment of stun to to crouch on all fours before kicking her leg straight up under Sasuke chin. As he slightly left the ground, she reappeared above him, preparing to attack. Though, as if unfazed by her attack, Sasuke immediately dissapeared, in trun reappearing above Sakura

Using speed he hadn't used before, he dug his fist into her abdomen with enough force to propell her at immense speed towards the earth.

No emotion or reaction flickered through his face as she used a hand to break her fall, flipping backwards onto all fours. She brought up her head, her pink eyes shining brightly as she studied Sasuke. Something wasn't right. He wasn't trying at all. Though his attacks were powerful, she somehow knew he was capable of much more. He was only messing with her. It was that realization solely that made up her mind. She would no longer mess around as well. She would forget about her ties with him at this moment, she would break him in whatever way neccesary to bring him back, to bring Sasuke back.

Sakura said nothing as she bolted from her position, aiming a punch for Sasuke's head. He swiftly moved his head to the side, using the ground as a support for his hands as he aimed a double kick for her, She ducked down, aiming a vertical kick at his face. He simply caught her ankle and held it there with no difficulty whatsoever. She threw another kick at the Uchiha only for it to be caught again by Sasuke's other hand.

They stayed like that for a moment, Sakura with her hands the the ground, the only thing preventing her from hanging freely from Sasuke's grasp. With seemingly no effort, Sasuke slightly leaned back, his arm muscles smoothly heightening as he lifted her by the feet, meanwhile starting a slow spin. He spun around swiftly in two full motions, releasing Sakura's legs to send her in the direction of one of the huge Sakura trees, secluded to only a small area of the pink-leaved trees.

Sakura's back was facing the fround as she flew towards the tree; she lifted her head upwards to allow her sight of her destination. She calmly closed her eyes before letting out a barely discernable grunt as she executed a back flip, right when it seemed she would hit the tree. It all seemed to go in slow motion as she landed agaisnt the tree, the chakra on her feet alowing her to crouch on it. The force of her landing caused all a burst of Sakura petals from the tree to flutter from underneath her, pushed away to the sides. Her hair flayed about her as she swiftly lifted her head up, revealing her calm, yet serious pin glowing orbs.

In a single burst of energy, Sakura used her chakra to boost of the tree, towards Sasuke as she prepared to attack.

Upon confrontation, she punched him, and punched him again, chasing after him, executing different moves to keep him on his path. She reappeared behind him and did a backflip kick that sent him flying into the air. She jumps up to meet him halfway and performs a very graceful spin-kick that sends Sasuke flying through many trees and into a head on collision with the cliff wall. Some rocks collapsed under the pressure and plummeted down on the Uchiha Prodigy.

Sakura landed and crouched down, her intense eyes never leaving the rock formation. Her eyes slightly twitched as they returned to their normal emerald color. The downside to her newfound bloodlimit was that she could not control it. And because of this, her chakra would substantially drain everytime she used it. If using it was a term she could use to describe it. Her pink eyes would just come, without her trying to bring them out, just like they would retreat without her wanting them too.

She took, long, deep breaths as she waited for Sasuke to come out. She didn't want to glance away for a second, something wasn't right. Proving her feelings, an ominous, purple colored chakra began to seep from the rocks, forebodingly, menacingly. Though all to suddenly the chakra competley dissapeared. Immediately an explosion propelled the rocks in every direction. As this happened, Sakura's serious eyes reamined focused on the sight as she slowly stood up.

The cloud of smoke that resulted from explosion slowly started to recede, reavealing Sasuke as he calmy walked out.

"Enough games." He still held his stoic demeanor, but something was different. She beleived him this time, he was no longer fooling around.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" She didn't even see him preform any handseals, how could he be that fast?

Sasuke slightly leaned back as his cheast heaved. Putting his whole body into it, he leaned forwards as the fire spewed from his mouth. But instead of letting the fire chase Sakura, it revolved around him, quickly, repeatedly, it's glow bright and menacing. It slowly started changing shape as Sasuke held a seal. It was quickly recognized as the form of a dragon as it's long body looped in and out of itself, it's red eyes glaring at her.

Leaving no warning, the fire dragon propelled itself in her direction, leaving her only tactical manuever to dodge as she rolled to the side. Though it was hardly effective as the singing heat from the firey from slightly nicked her. The extreme heat radiating from the dragon was deadly. Everytime she dodged the immense heat overwhelmed her.

The enflamed dragon roared and flew high up into the sky, its long, slithering body flowing behind it. When it reached the height it wanted, the dragon looked down, glaring at her. It wasted no time dove down, breathing fire at her as it did so. Sakura knew that once the flames touched the ground, they would spread out a great distance like a wildfire.So...if she had any chance of dodging the raging flames, she had to get farther than that great distance that seperated the dragon from her.

Sakura immediately ran out in full sprint, soon eniciating a series of front flips to increase her speed.

She was fast.

But the flames were faster.

Her eyes slightly widened as the flames reached her, threatening to engulf her. Though it was then that she dissapeared completley, dodging the firey flames.

No emotion flickered across the Uchiha's face as his emotionless gaze transitioned to a certain location in the distance. On que two figures appeared.

Naruto placed Sakura on her feet, his stern cerulean eyes focused on Sasuke.

"Naruto, please let me do this. "Her perplexed eyes were fixated on his face, though she was still slightly suprised at Naruto's immense speed. "I would have dodged it."

"I know." Was all he said as he stood, his eyes still trained on Sasuke. "But I wasn't willing to take the chance." With that, he silghtly backed up, signaling he would still let her fight. Sasuke was waiting patiently.

"Yo, dobe." Sasuke's deep call could be heard. Naruto stopped his walking, turning to look at Sasuke, somewhat casually.

"Don't do that again." With that, he did a few handseals, this time letting them be seen. "Katon Goukakyu No Jutsu"

Sakura looked up at hearing the familiar jutsu. She readied herself to dodge if the need arised.

_Again?_

Sakura's perplexed emerald eyes studied the forming dragon. Though something was different. There was more than one. There were three dragons forming. She didn't get the chance to see if she could continue to dodge one, how was she supposed to try and dodge three? A sad smile graced Sakura's lips as she transistioned her eyes back to Sasuke.

"You really are trying to kill me, aren't you?" This was more of a muttering to herself, but Sasuke picked up on it. Though, he didn't say anything until his dragons had fully formed, weaving in and out of thereselves around him.

"I thought you were smart Sakura...It should have been made clear, the first time I attacked you." Sakura smiled again, her calm eyes flickering with knowlege, acceptance.

"You really have changed..." Sasuke's cold eyes slightly squinted as she said this, almost speculatively.Before she continued, she brought up an arm to wipe the persperation off her forehead. The heat from the firey dragons waiting to attack was overhwelming. But it didn't bother her as much as her realization. "You're not the guy I once knew you to be." His voice as even colder, more emotionless than it had ever been. He seemed to be void of any emotion himself. He didn't yell, he didn't sound angry, amused. Just cold. As if he had learned to shut out anything he pleased.

It took a while for Sasuke to respond, his voice cold, subtle.

"You never knew me to begin with Sakura."

It was then that he brought his single hand up in a seal, the dragons immediately bolted towards her.Sakura ran in the other direction, trying to bide her time. She was fast..But they were faster. All three of them came in on her at the same time, diving towards the ground. She managed to jump, flipping over them, but one slightly managed to singe her back.

She let out a small grunt of pain as the attack burned a part of her clothing at the small of her back. She had no time to try and heal herself as they all came at her again.

She rolled when the first one came, then executed a sort of jump spinning in the process to dodge the next one. All she could do was lean back in a small roll as the third one came sweeping at her. As they passed she stayed crouched as she tried to catch her breath, and though determined,she couldn't do this forever. Her determined eyes looked up at the dragons turning towards her direction, preparing to attack again.

_"I thought you were smart Sakura."_

It was then that an idea struck her.

Sakura stood up tall, closing her eyes.

_Focus chakra to the feet, and hold it there._

The moment she could feel the heat rolling off them, she jumped up. They immediately changed there course, following her movements. She twirled around and realeased Chakra from all points in her body. It looked like shooting lights, were coming out of her. They dissolved the fire, leaving only embers to fall to the ground.

She had no time to fall down as Sasuke appeared behind her.

"Impressive.." He remarked dryly, coldly. Eyes wide, she looked over her shoulder. With super fast speed he kicked her towards the ground..Before she touched the ground, he appeared below her and kicked her back up. He reapeared above her ready to kick her once more but she managed to block.But the force of the blow sent her flying back to the ground, where she landed painfully, spitting out blood in the process.

He slightly cringed, his eyes reflecting deep worry as his body unconciously tried to urge him forward, an act of protection. But he stopped himself, clenching his fists tightly as he watched. His cerulean eyes held deep contemplation.

He knew the time would come, when Sasuke would get serious. It was happening. And though it was, he wanted to beleive something. He wanted to beleive that Sasuke wouldn't kill her, that he somehow still held the bonds he had created with the both of them. That he still held some type of mercy for his former teamate, for the girl that had loved him, or maybe still did.

But just like he wanted to beleive that, he knew, he knew that something bad was going to happen. And despite the face that he wanted to trust Sakura, he wanted her alive, he wasn't going to wait for something bad to happen. He was going to protect her.

"I'm through playing around with you."

Sasuke did a feal handseals, before putting his palm towards the ground before him, letting his other hold his arm for support. Immediately lightning started sparking from the ground, all around him as a large ball of what looked like electric currents of chakra started to form in his hand.

Her emerald eyes reflected a sort of sadness, yet resolution as she studied Sasuke. And though she wasa breathing heavily, she lifted herself up from her position on all fours, closing her eyes in the process. She took on last deep breath, trying to calm her body, even as what sounded like birds chirping invaded her ears. As she became still, a pink chakra surrounded her body like a second layer of skin. Then a small, almost translucnet circle of pink chakra appeared ond the ground around her, slightly revolving.

_More_

Sakura's eyes shot open, revealing their bright pink color. Immediately the chakra revolving on the ground around her exploded with much more chakra, it's reaching flaring up about her like flames, falring around her as it continued to spin at a much faster pace. She then closed her eyes.

She slowly crossed her arms in front of her chest, before slowly, starting to spin. Her feet didn't seem to move as she did this, her spinning seemingly resulting from her chakra. While she spun, Sakura let her arms loose, intertwining them together gracefully as she continued to spin. Sakura petals appeared around her, spinning and surrounding her as she continued to revolve. She then started lifting her intertwined arms above her , as far as they could reach, splaying one of her palms out towards the heavens as the other rested underneath, a sort of support. Staticky lights started to appear in various places not to far from her outspread hands, almost like little beams, shooting to her hand, creating a pinkish-red ball of chakra. It got bigger by the second.

Sasuke swung her chidori filled hand behind him as he continued to grasp it. Without warning, he bolted towards her. Sakura then opened her eyes abruptly, everything around her dispersing.

" Meet my bloodline limit." She took the stance Sasuke took ; arm behind using the other one for support. She too bolted from her posistion, towards Sasuke. Tears fell in a long stream behind her.

They both ran at lightning fast speeds, getting closer and closer to colliding. Both their eyes were locked on to each other, none holding any intention of stopping.

5 yards away.

4 yards.

3 yards.

2 yards.

1.

A huge explosion rocked the earth amidst the clearing.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Oh and for those of you who have read this from a while ago, im sorry i keep on changing the summary, i just can't get one that would fit with the whole story!**

**Yea review would be..totally AMAYzing..right? yes no maybe?**


	7. Chap 6: Bated Goodbyes

**A/N:** aww man..first off i have to say, thanks so much for the reviews. It makes me happy to make you guys happy or at least contentted with my story. And for the songs i place in here, you can just youtube em! That's what i do.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of the Naruto series. Sadly..

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 6: Bated Goodbyes**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Tree after tree snapped in half as she made contact with them, the force of her momentum very powerful. The sickening sound of each splinter of the wood tearing apart created large, echoing sounds.

She finally came to halt as hery placid body met with a very thick willow-like three, one of its huge branches catching a peice of her clothing after she thudded against its trunk. She stayed there, suspened limply for a few moments before her own clothing tore, unable to support her weight, as well as the damage it had sustained Her pink hair fell over her face as she met the ground, her body resting motionless on its side. She remainded unmoving.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

He had crashed into the same rock cliff as he had before, the power of his collision creating a small rock tumble, causing his body to lay ragged and disporportioned against the layers of rock and rubble. When the large puff of dust and smoke had subsided, he slightly pushed himself up, letting his body rest in sitting posistion as he took in the damages. The Sharingan had faded from his eyes, leaving deep obsidian orbs to glaze over as recent memories flashed his mind.

It was then that his head snapped up, and he bolted from his posistion agaisnt the rocks. His sharp eyes scanned the area, finally fixating on a path of destruction completley opposite to his.

He didn't run, he didn't power walk. His footsteps were prolonged, almost casual as he made his way towards the area of destruction. He subtly placed his hands in his pockets, his demeanor stoic. His eyes did not glance to the snapped trees, or the blood staines accompanying them. His gaze was focused ahead, his path determined. He paused as he entered the next small clearing, home to the giant willow tree in its wake. The gaps in its branches left room for the sun's rays to peek in, shining down on the body lying amidst the leaves.

(Song/Background music: Planetarium by Otsuka Ai)

No emotion crossed his face as his deep obsidian orbs focused on the body, home to the pink-haired locks and torn, red clothes that were hardly discernable from the blood. He stood there for a moment before making his way towards her; the Uchiha stood above her, hands still in his pockets as he looked down to her motionless body.

"Sakura." He called, the tone to his voice was reminscent of a casual calling. Though even with a prolonged moment of waiting he received no answer, in language or movement. He let out a small, hardly discernable sigh before kneeling down before his former teamate.

"You can move now Sakura.." Deep obsidian were focused on the motionless body, looking for any sort of movement. He applied light pressure to the kunoichi, letting her now rest on her back. Still, there was no movement.No rising and falling of her chest, twitching behind her eyelids.

It was then that the Uchiha ran a hand through his raven-colored locks, letting his hand rest on his neck in slight rub, a clear sign of frustration, even though his emotionless facade.He let his eyes wander elsewhere, almost in very calm exhasperation.

"Enough games.." His voice was still impassive, the only paraodox to that the slight waver that shook it. The descent of his Adam's apple was very noticeable as he subtly swallowed. "Sakura.." He lifted her into his arms, letting her head loll onto his upper arm. Still, the pink-haired kunoichi did not move; her body felt clammy to the Uchiha's rouch hands, cold to his warm touch.

"..Sakura.." His voice almost had a slight pause to it, a hinting to his rising suspicion of something being wrong. He started continuoulsy patting her cheek.

"Sakura..this isn't funny." He repositioned her against him, sliding her more upwards. "If this is just an illusionary technique..you need to stop it. Now." The cool monotone note that usually flowed from his vocals was gone, the worry, yet denying tone clearly heard. He pushed a few strands of hair from her face.

"I-I'm serious Sakura."

The noise produced by twigs suddenly snapping caused his deep obsidian eyes to transition away from Sakura, fixating on the fist that made its way towards his face.

Sakura's body fell out of his arms as he skidded back, the momentum allowing him to slightly stand, knees bent as he staggered back.

"You..you bastard" His voice was dangerously low, trembling with both anger and greif. His burning cerulean eyes breifly glanced at the body amidst the grassy earth before he ran towards Sasuke. With great speed he was already upon him, letting his fist pound into his face time and time again, backing the Uchiha up into a tree.

He had breifly stopped when he realized his former teamate had done nothing to protect himself. His breaths were heavy, ragged, something already twinkling in the corner of his eyes. Sasuke wiped the trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, letting it smear the back of his hand. He took the time to glance back at the lifeless body amidst the ground. His obsidian eyes lingered on her for a moment, something flickering through his eyes as a thought seeemd to occur to him.

Sasuke let his eyes travel back to Naruto, dangerously slow. His cold eyes seemed to smolder with anger as he stood up fully, fists clenched at his sides.

It was then that he delivered his first punch to Naruto's jawline.

"Why did you let her fight me! This was supposed to be between me and you!" He let his other fist pound into Naruto's face. "This is your fault!"

"You're the one who stabbed your hand through her!" He punched him. " Look at your hand teme!" He grabbed Sasuke's hand, the one covered in Sakura's blood, and shoved it in his face. The momentum of the shove made Sasuke take a few steps back. "Look at your hand!" He paused, letting himself lower to the ground as he tried to hold in a grunt of pain, emotional greif. As he squeezed his eyes shut, the watery substance twinkled in the corners of his closed eyes.

"You..you're not Sasuke-he wouldn't..." He let his fist hit the ground with no motivation, almost hesitantly as he let out another small noise of greif between his gritted teeth.

Sasuke did nothing, only let his face be obscured from view by his bangs. His fists were clenched.

He only brought his head up to reveal his deep obsidian eyes when he sensed the blonde-haired ninja rise once again.

"The friend I once knew a long time ago..he wouldn't have done this to someone he knew..someone who he considered a friend..someone he knew considered him _more _than a friend..He wouldn't have done any of this.." His voice was dangerously low, yet calm. Only with his last remark did his voice rise into an uproar, and his sharp razor teeth become prevailent in his snarl.

"You are not my friend..._Sasuke_!!"

.He immediately placed his two hands out in front of him, letting them move around in a circular motion, a familiar chakra creating sound heard.

Sasuke let his gaze glance at the powerful chakra forming in Naruto's hands. His eyes had long ago retained its emotionless stare, his demeanor stoic. He only let out a small grunt of feigned amusement, acceptance, as he breifly closed his eyes, re-opening them to reveal his Sharingan.

"Like i said to her..You never knew me to begin with."

His tone of finality marked that as the last thing to be said between the two former teamates, best friends. This marked the end, the end to all hopes of things returning to the way they once were. What had been done on this day would be forever unforgiven, forever scarred.

He slowly began to stretch left arm out, his palm facing the ground before him. The staticky currents of electricity began to spar from the earth in a circular area beneath his splayed out palm, feeding into the chakra growing within the center of his hand. The sound of birds chirping was deafening to the forest around.

Their gazes breifly met, signaling the time of their charge. Both shinobi bolted from their posistions.

_**"Can you two please get along, for me?"**_

The soft voice behind the simple request echoed in both of the young mens' minds, though it slowed down neither of them. Even if they had wanted to, they couldn't turn back now.

The body resting to their side remained stationary, her porcelain-like skin lighting up with the reflection of the blinding lights and colors produced from the two powerful attacks.

It seemed to go in slow motion as they grew even closer to eachother, fists raising for the strike.

**_Stop!!_**

Toned hands grabbed each of the fists belonging to the chakra filled attacks. After a short spin from the holder of the hands, there was no sound as the figure used the momentum he had gained, and the momentum still powering the two to throw the former friends in opposite directions.

The earth greatly rumbled as the explosions sounded simultaneously in the distance.

Kakashi remained in that same posistion, his shiny silver hair finally swaying into stillness. He seemed to have been contemplating what he had just seen, what he had just stopped. The distant memory of the same occurence revealed itself in his mind. Like before, the skilled Jounin had barely managed to come between them. But this time, he wasn't able to stop something he should have. Prevent it.

It was then that he let his solemn eyes travel to the motionless kunochi lying on the ground.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The rocks and debree peices crumbled all around as he removed his hand from the remains of the large boulder he had decimated with his Ransengan. Trees all around had been blown off their foundations, the earth all around broken up.

A pained grunt escaped Naruto's gritted teeth before he let himself fall onto his back, his troubled cerulean eyes resting to the sky above him.

Kakashi had stopped them once again, a second time. Stopped him from doing something that should have been done, on both accounts. It angered him, infuriated him.

And like before..Sakura had been there.

"Chikuso.." He trembled as his eyes flickered with greif, his body racked with held in sobs.

"_Naruto..trust me.."_

He rolled over onto his belly, propping himself up on his hands and knees. He let his fist pound into the ground, digging into the earth around it.

"Chikuso!" The desperate cries that came were sudden, deep.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

His hand was still dug into the earth, its span all around the fist broken and cracked, trees all around uprooted and lifeless; decimated by his Chidori.

Sasuke stayed in that positon, his free hand and two knees supporting him. His face was obscured from view as his head hung low, though his Adam's apple continued to retract up and down and he repeatedly swallowed. The facial lines eatched deep in his face protuded even more so as his jaw as seemingly clenched.

**"_Sasuke-kun!" _**

**"_Wanna go out on a date?"_**

**"_Sasuke-kun..'_**

**"_You taught me on that day that solitude was painful!'_**

**"_Sasuke-kun"_**

**"_I love you so much!"_**

**" _Stop it!"_**

**"_I love you so much!"_**

**"_Sasuke-kun."_**

"_Sakura..Thank you" _

"Kuso!" The curse came out in a harsh whisper.

He seemed calm as let his body slightly lower, supporting hand transfering weight to his elbow, as if defeated. He slowly leaned forward, letting his head fall to rest between his two arms. His whole body shook, and one wouldn't be able to tell if he was laughing or crying.

He didn't make a sound.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

"No way.." Various accomdations of whispered exclamations could be heard from all the shinobi, mostly ANBU surrounding. All eyes were fixated on the body held in the arms of Kakashi.

Heads turned as a woman rushed her way through the crowd. All whispers and chatters were halted as they seemingly waited for her reaction. They had also backed up, allowing room to space them.

Upon seeing Sakura, Tsunade let out a cry, rushing over to the kunochi his Kakashi's arms. She had placed a hand on the young woman's cheek, her face contorting even more as she felt the coldness. But when she leaned in closer, the Hokage let out a small breath, as if in shock. Her wide eyes confirmed it.

"She-She's breathing!" She put her hands on Sakura's neck. " She has a pulse…god-damnit she's still alive!" Everybody stirred in suprise as Kakashi immediately laid her down on the ground. Tsunades hands were already emitting a very bright glow as she put her hands over the deep, gaping wound in her abdomen.

The bright light reflected in Kakashi's eyes, also brining image the the wound. He had a solemn look, almost a look of realization as his eyes were fixated on the ragged wound. The sound of chirping birds filled his mind, connecting to his ears.

Kakashi dissapeared from his location.

"We need to get her to the hospital immediately!" A few immediately stepped forwards, offering the carry the kunochi. "The rest of you go find Sasuke and Naruto!" The crowd of ANBU had broken up, all scattering and dissapearing their seperate ways.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

He stopped for a moment, his eyes casting sight to the figure a few feet away.

Sasuke was sitting up against a tree, his figure slumped, his face obscured from view. The Uchiha was motionless, and made no acknowledgment to Kakashi's arrival. He looked defeated, in brooding, perhaps even mourning. Kakashi seemed to draw a story in his mind as he recalled events and took in his former students condition.

His eyes holding a seldom look, he continued to walk towards Sasuke, his soft footfalls sounded by the rustling blades of grass. And as he neared, the Uchiha stirred, almost in warning, his head slightly pirking.

"Sasuke." His voice was calm, his tone the same as it always was when he spoke, almost kind, though serious. "She's alive..just barely." He watched as his fomer student visibly tensed up, becoming deadly still. He seemed to be taking in the information. Though he didn't lift his head up to meet the gaze of his former sensei, nor did he make another movement. He only lowered his head further.

When Kakashi made a move to place his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, the Uchiha recoiled, standing up immediatelywith great speed to avoid contact. He stood there for a moment face still obscured from view as Kakashi's slightly suprised gaze was fixating on him. He then turned away, burying his hands in his pockets before starting to casually walk away, however stifly.

"Consequences will be worse for you if you leave again." Kakashi spoke out in warning, advisory. He was truly trying to help him. Though Sasuke continued in his departure as if he hadn't heard a single word.

"Sasu-." He paused as Sasuke abruptly halted, turning his body halfway as his face lifted to meet Kakashi's gaze.

Like always, Sasuke's calm, stoic face and demeanor was in place, even his eyes had regained their emotionless facade. Though what was different, and what came as a deep suprise to Kakashi, was that watery substance that rimmed the corners of his eyes, twinkling as the sun shined on them.

A deep look of suprised didn't etch Kakashi's face, though one could tell his his slight astoundment through his great pause. He couldn't recall a time he had seen the Uchiha like that, not even one account. This added another chapter to the story he had rolled over in his mind, about the events that might have occured. The events that lead up to Sakura's condition. Could it have been an accident? A mistake in the heat of battle?

Sasuke knew the moment in which his point had been made, as well as his unwillingness to stay, or throw words. Though, as he started to turn his body back around, he paused, seemingly contemplating his thought to say something. He let his eyes transition to no area in particular as he further contemplated. After another breif moment he quickly glanced to and away from Kakashi.

"Take care of her.." With that, he continued his departure from Konoha, his steps slow, casual.

Kakashi slightly nodded., watching as Sasuke continued to walk away.

As if on que, ANBU appeared behind the Jounin, bringing his eyes to rest on them. They seemed to be looking around the area for any sign of Sasuke. When they seemed to not notice anything, Kakashi brought his gaze back to the area in which Sasuke was simply walking. He was no longer there.

And as he still held the attatchments between sensei and student, he spoke nothing.

One of the ANBU almost speculatively looked in the direction to which occupied Kakahi's gaze, before letting his eyes transfer to the Jounin.

"Haruno Sakura has been taken to Konoha hospital."

**_

* * *

_Thanks for Reading! Hope you liked it!**


	8. Chap 7: The Understanding of Love

**A/N:** Hey guys, really sorry for the long update, exams and just have been kicking me in the rear, so I've only been able to write little bits everyday. But thanks so much for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Naruto series..but i can wish, can't I?

Enjoy, I hope this chapter makes up for it.

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 7: The Understanding of Love**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Rays of pale moonlight shone through the lone window, falling upon the sparsely furnished hospital room. The reflection from the glossy tiles amidst the floor provided the room with a luminescent glow, only fading as occasional shadows scudded across the face of the cratered moon. A lone figure sat upright in the rounded window seal, his gaze holding the sleeping Konoha before him.

His deep cerulean eyes were slightly dulled, reflecting drowsiness, and also the conflicting thoughts running through his head. By the time of night the moon proclaimed, it was past the time he usually retired to sleep. The wounds he was suffering, and the itching of the bandages wrapped around him added to that temptaion. But the number one loud ninja wasn't missing sleep because of the injuries he sustained, or the itchiness of the skin under the bandages.

The source of his restlessness was asleep in the bed behind him, breathing gently, unaware of the presence of anyone who would come and go to see her. Unaware of his unabsent presence in this room since the day she had gotten here. A week had passed since then, a week had passed for her body to do the rest of the healing that wasn't able to be done with any medical specialist. Something about the attack that had peirced her abdomen, Sasuke's Chidori, allowed little to no help in healing from the most skilled of the medical ninjas. Her bandages had to be replaced daily, and routine checks, various times a day were a must for the unconcious kunoichi.

He glanced towards Sakura, letting his cerulean eyes fall on her as she slightly stirred. The moonlight was brushing across her face, illuminating the pink hair strew across the pillow, and the stray stands of hair lying over her pale, porcelain-like face. Her lashes seemed longer as they covered her miraculous emerald eyes, fluttering ever so slightly in occasion. Her rosy lips were parted slightly, her chest rising and falling gently with her light breathing. Nothing had changed since the first day she spent here. Color was obvious, the very pale, ghostly color had left her, the excessive bleeding had stopped. But her eyes had not opened.

His eyes rested on her for a slight while longer before he dragged them back to gaze out the window from his posistion on the rounded window-seal. In his mind's eye he couldn't help but go over the recent events, at least the ones that were still fresh in him mind, his heart.

...ooo000ooo000ooo..

_Sakura and Sasuke were inches from contact with their powerful attacks at hand. He had started running towards them, using all the speed he could to reach the two before they collided, knowing the consequences if he did not. Yet he could only watch as they met, a large blinding light engulfing them._

_The immense boom had created a large tremor beneath the earth, and created a deafening ring of sound as its force sent him flying back, digging into the ground as he landed. _

_When he had bolted up from his posistion, and when that last trace of smoke and debree and retreated, his only saw a very large crater, marking the center of where Sasuke and Sakura had met attacks, neither one of them were still there. The paths of destruction from the left and right of the crater signaled their locations._

_He couldn't describe the gut-wrenching feeling that had consumed him._

...ooo000ooo000ooo..

His cerulean eyes glanced to the door as it lightly creaked open, making room for the nurse who quietly walked in. She glanced at him, meeting his gaze breifly before she walked over to Sakura, ready for her usual rounds. When she glanced to him again, he finally let his cerulean eyes return to their former fixation.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

"_Why did you let Sakura fight me!This was supposed to be between me and you!" He felt the burning sensation as Sasuke delivered a punch. " It's your fault!"_

"_I'm not the one who stabbed her!"He punched him back. " Look at your hand teme!" He grabbed Sasuke's hand and threw it in his face. " Look at your hand!" _

..oo000ooo000ooo..

He really had though that Sakura was lost to him. He couldn't explain hat gut wrenching feeling that came over him. He had wanted to vomit, rip his heart out in the hopes that the knife digging into it would dissapear, that the dream, would dissapear. He never wanted to feel that again.

**Flashback**

"Get away from me!" Naruto kept yelling. Shinobi were continously thrown off the emotional young man as he seemingly tried to make his way away from the forest clearing. His eyes were smoldering, determined, yearning to leave. Most likely after Sasuke. Tears still rimmed his eyes, though his anger had halted them.

Kakashi appeared in the clearing, his solemn eyes watching the ninjas' fultie attempt to try and restrain the fuming blonde-haired shinobi. Though his cerulean eyes had glanced to the silver-haired Jounin as he sensed his appearance.

"Kakashi!...Sasuke!..he-he killed her!" At the mention of the kunoichi's name, the greif once again entered his voice. "He killed her!" As the greif overtook him in another wave, he lowered to the ground, doing nothing to thwart away to the ANBU who placed their hands on him, ready to restrain him if he burst out again.

"Sakura's alive, Naruto."

**End Flashback**

The moon still bathed his face in pale beams of light as he slid out of the dream-like state he had fallen into. The memory still irked him, even after the week that had passed. He had let Sakura get hurt badly, she really had been on the edge of death. He had let her get hurt again, by the same guy who continued to hurt her in the past.

His head immediately perked up from its former posistion as she sensed someone coming up behind him. Someone he hadn't sensed nor heard come in.

Shattering could be heard as a glass bowl full of ramen fell to the ground. Naruto's eyes widened as the moons rays shined over the features of the figure in front of him. He gazed into deep pearl eyes. Scared, pearl eyes. He immediately lowered the kunai.

"Hinata-chan!"

Immediatley the Hyuuga sunk down to the ground, and with shakey hands, began picking up the broken pieces. "I-I'm sorry N-Naruto-kun." The stuttering she had left behind years ago, entered her throat once again.

"No I'm sorry Hinata-chan..here." He kneeled down in front of her, placing his hands on hers, gently raising her off the ground till they were both standing.

"I'll clean this up." He flashed her smile and knelt down, beginning his cleaning.

Hinata blushed at his smile, though guilt still flickered across her face.

"N-Naruto-kun, you should let me-."

"No I'm sorry I ruined this, the least I can do is clean it up." He stood up with the broken pieces in hand and traveled over to a trash can. All that was left was the ramen. "I'll go get some towels." Naruto had no time to reject as she hurried out the door. He sighed and sat down in front of the ramen. He looked at the ramen as if studying it.

It was then that he let out a small grin, his cerulean eyes lighting up as if he had thought of something.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Hinata hung her head down as she clutched the towels firmly in her hand. She was so naïve and stupid. She just wanted to see Naruto and help him feel better so she made him some ramen. The Ichiraku, his favorite place, was closed for the night, so she decided to at least make him some of her own. Hoping it wouldn't taste so bad.

She shouldn't have disturbed his rest. She was probably the last thing he wanted to see right now, and she had made a fool out of herself.

Her thoughts abrubtly stopped as she approached the destined door. Hinata, shyly stepped in and made her way over to Naruto. When she looked to the ground, there was no ramen, just a few noodles here and there, and the juice along with it. She could see Naruto slurping up the last noodle.

He looked up at her with a big grin on his face. "Hinata-chan where did you get this Ramen! Its better than Ichiraku's!" He stood up and walked over to her. She shyly fiddled her fingers together, looking up at her crush who towered at least a foot above her. "I-Ichiraku's was closed so I m-made some myself..but you don't have to l-lie about how it tastes."

Naruto's gaze turned into that of a serious one, yet gentle all the more. "Hinata-chan...I would never lie to you." The one to his voice was soft, yet meaningful as he wanted to get the point across. He gentle took the towerls from her light grasp before bending down to clean up what was left of the ramen.

Her pearl eyes watched him as his hand directed the towl over the juices amidst the floor. Though her eyes perked with worry as she noticed him flinching a few times with certain movement. He probably hadn't thought it being noticeable.

"Naruto-kun, are you ok?" He looked up at her, puzzled for a second. Than he figured she must have noticed. "Of course! It's just a scratch…but usually it would heal by now, kinda weird.." He made his way over to the moonlit window seal and resumed his postion, looking out the window.

"Hey you can come sit if you want, there's plently of room" He persuaded Hinata. She looked at him, the whole time fiddling her fingers. " I don't want t-to intrude..I-I should probably g-go, I know right now is a bad time to see you.." The next thing she knew, Naruto was right in front of her.

"So…you don't want to see me?" His words surprised Hinata.

"N-No that's not what I meant! I just figured you probably w-wouldn't want to see me right now, especially when your with Sakura.." She put on a smile ready to turn around. But she was stopped when see heard a slight chuckle from Naruto. She turned around to see Naruto with both hands behind his head while he sort of looked up to the ceiling in disbelief.

"So that's what you've thought this whole time!" He sort of almost playfully said, still nonplused. " You think that I still love Sakura-chan?" He let out a small laugh. Hinata's eyes just widened a bit. " I admit still do..but not in that way..i love her as a friend, one of my most precious friends, and I'd protect her with my life..and put her happiness above my ownHe looked over to Hinata, lowering his voice a bit. " But I don't know how I'd live without her.." His voice changed from serious to gentle.. "But don't think that I don't want to see you Hinata-chan..anytime is fine for me.." He flashed her a big grin. " Because you're a great person, and I'd give up eating ramen to see you!" Hinata just blushed widly, she almost looked on the verge of crying. She gave him a big smile.

"Thankyou Naruto-kun…" She bowed her head down, raising her hands to her face.

It didn't take long before she joined him on that rounded window seal. Their conversaton was light, the main satisfaction coming from just sitting their, the silence calming.

A weak, yet genuine smile graced her lips as her half-closed emerald eyes gazed at the two.

They may not have known it yet, or, _Naruto _might not have known it yet, but things were a little more than a simple crush. She was very happy for her best friend, though, in a way, it was almost sad to see that he had someone else, however selfish that sounded. She had gotten so used to always having him around, hearing him proclaim his affection for her, seek to always be near her. He said he would never leave her, but he didn't realize that he did, he was.

**Flashback**

She had been sitting on that same bench for a long while now, waiting for what seemed like forever. Though, it wasn't really all about her patience, it was the certain bench that she had been asked to meet him at. The rough, yet smooth concrete bench, always sturdy, always standing, always with memory.

Naruto knew what meaning that bench had to her, and yet he had still asked her to meet him there.

Her emerald eyes transitioned to the blonde-haired ninja as she observed him running towards her after his sharp turn from the busy streets. He didn't say anything till he standing in front her.

"Sakura-chan. Im really sorry, please don't be mad." The tone of his voice truly was guilty, but he didn't have as much enunciation as he usually did, his voice was almost low, quiet. Uncanny for Konoha's number one loud ninja.

Her head almost slightly turned as her emerald eyes studied him, her ears wary, curious. A small, breif moment of pause ensued between the two, another weird occurence to her. Flashing him a smile, she motioned for him to sit down on the bench next to her. He obeyed, clasping his hands lightly together as he did, his cerulean eyes trained to the ground ahead of him. He almost seemed nervous, contemplative.

"Naruto, what did you want?" She made her voice as light and cheery as she could, noticing his serious ecpression. And that fact that something was bothering him. As if on que, and almost to the point where he cut her off, he replied, his tone sudden, serious, almost afraid.

"What do you see in Sasuke?" Her head slightly rose, her emerald eyes slightly flickering with knowing, solemness. She was setback by his inquiry. His serious gaze was still averted from hers.

"Naruto-"

"Do you still love him?" It was then that his cerulean gaze met hers, serious, yet very unreadable. She was set back yet again, her gaze questioning, yet wavering as she stared into his. The look on her face answered his question. He let a small, ghostly grim travel to his lips. He let out a small intake of breath, knowingly, almost sadly just as much it was amused. The solemness in his eyes could easily be seen now.

"Why?"

Her eyes slightly widened, her gaze never leaving his. Her lips undiscernably agape as she tried to find the words to say.

"You haven't seen him in years...He's never given any hint to returning your feelings, even motion to the chance of him ever stepping foot in Konoha again."

"I know, I know." She let a breif smile flash across her face. "I've accepted that, really." She kept up her small smile, even as she clearly noticed the look that flickered in the depths of Naruto's eyes. Though it didn't seem to come from her words. His voice was calm, yet almost dissapointed, meaningful.

"You haven't fooled me, Sakura-chan.." Her gaze slightly widened, almost speculatively as she looked at him. He didn't continue on that thought, though he knew that she knew exactly what he was talking about. The way her smiles had become feigned, forced, fake. Her demeanor, everything. She went around acting like she was perfectly fine, that she had gotten over a certain Uchiha, but she hadn't, and he knew it.

Her eyes wavered as she looked at him, though she said nothing. It was then that he let his cerulean eyes avert away from hers.

"Sasuke, he hasn't done anything good for you, even gone he hasn't-"

"What's your point, Naruto?" Her voice was stern, impatient. She still seemed a little unnerved from his earlier comment, but because of this and of his recent one, she decided to express her unliking of the subject. There was no point in continuing to fool the someone who hadn't been fooled.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan. That's my point. He's not good for you, continuing to love him after all these years is not good for you."

"You don't know that."

"He's not the same guy he was before, and even then he was horrible to you.." His voice was still calm, quiet, yet perplexed. "He dropped everything so he could get stronger, he traded everything just so he could kill his brother-"

"Don't judge him." Her tone was cold as she snapped at him. "You don't understand the things he's been through. You don't even try too!" She couldn't help it as her voice grew higher in tone. "So what he left, did you expect me to just forget about him? I don't care what he does, it won't change how I feel. I seem to be the only one here who sees the reasons behind that he's done, who's trying to show him that he was a home to come home too!"

Naruto stayed in his same posistion, hands lightly clasped together, head slightly lowered. He had closed his eyes, seeemingly in effort to keep himself calm, and in slight bewilderness that he knew something like this would happen. It was only when he sensed her standup did he open his solemn, calm cerulean eyes to look up at her.

"And you, _you_ of all people, should be trying to understand him-"

"Sakura-chan." His voice was calm, meaningful. "I wasn't questioning his reasons for leaving. I'm trying to understand why you still have feelings for him. He did mean things to you deliberately, and you can't expect to use his goals as an excuse...But even knowing that, I can't accept that."

"Well it's not for you, to accept, Naruto."

"Do you remember the day you accepted my friendship, Sakura-chan?" Sakura paused. "You can't expect me to sit around and watch you continue to hurt youself fantacizing over the man who will never return your feelings." Sakura very slightly shook her head as her haughty eyes looked at him.

"If this what you brought me here for? To lecture me?"

It was then that Naruto's eyes fell to the ground before him.

"No..it's not." His tone almost seemed dissapointed as she said this, voice soft, grim.

"Then what is it, Naruto? To tell me how pathetic I am with my unrequited feelings?" Naruto let his solemn eyes travel up to meet hers. "You don't even try to understand what Sasuke is going through, what I feel. You're just selfish, and you'll never understand love."

He let out a release of breath, a grunt as a grim, sad smirk graced his lips. He looked down to the ground before him, slightly nodding his head, almost in knowingness, acceptance. Sakura's eyes slightly wavered as she looked at him, continuing to wait for his response. A breif silence had ensued between them, and she could see the difference in Naruto's stature. In the time that no words had been exchanged between them, she had calmed down, and slightly guiltiness at what she had just said began to seep in.

When he spoke, his voice was almost sad, retreating.

"I don't know anything about love, huh?"

Her head slightly tilted up, her emerald eyes reflecting her guilt, yet her unwillingness to take back her words.

"You don't, Naruto." He tone was soft, almost in a whisper.

He let his cerulean eyes travel to breifly glance at her before he let out a small grunt of amusement, almost disbeleif. Though this was very soft, almost discernable. He shook one more nod before rising to his feet. Without a word he slightly walked past her, his back facing her as he finally stopped.

The wind slightly picked up, bringing a few strays leaves to float past his backturned body.

"Then I guess..you wouldn't belive me if I told you...I'm in love with you, Sakura-chan."

**End Flashback**

She remembered that day she let herself cry on the long walk home. The next day Naruto had left to train with Jiraiya, jipping her out of an opportunity to talk with Naruto. For two years he had been gone, she was sure he hadn't forgotten about what happened, but when he had finally come back to Konoha, he was normal, whether it had been feigned or for real. And she had been glad.

That sole reason alone played a key factor in why she was so happy for him. It also played part in how she managed to start picking herself up. Even though she had denied in in their argument, she did understand where he was coming from, and what he was saying. And it was because of him that she strived to finally start doing better. The same day he had left she went to Tsunade, asking her for training. She started clearing her mind of Sasuke, tried to produce real smiles.

She still wasn't sure even to this day if Naruto truly did love her in that way.

But she was truly happy that Hinata had come into his life like she did.

She was still waiting for that to happen to her.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sasuke sat on the lowest branch of a tree, it's thickness and sturdiness not bending in the slightest way to the Uchiha's weight. Deep obsidian orb, cold as steel, gazed lazily at the object in hand. He had been sharpening it to a nice point. Pressing his finger on the tip of it, he watched a droplet of blood ooze from the miniscule wound. Face portraying nothing, he packaged the kunai into the confines of his weapon pouch before letting his lazy eyes transistion to the sky above. The darkening day matched his mood.

He let his gaze travel to the direction as his side before he disspeared. He appeared yards away as he traveled deeper into the forest.

_I will find you, Itachi!_

* * *

**Thanks for reading. **


	9. Chap 8: Trivial Times

**A/N: **HEy you all i am really sorry about the LONG update, stuff came up and it was nearly impossible to work on this chapter. So please accept, and i hope this chapter can make up for it.

**Disclamier:** I don't own any part of the Naruto series of any of its characters (coughexcept SasukeCough), but it is my honor to say I own every part of this story and what I write in it. Thanks and goodbye.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 8: Trivial Times**

(o)

(o)

(o)

"BAKA!" The hollar was bellowed from the blonde kunoichi's insides as she chased after the source of her fury. Her baby-blue eyes were very prosperant over the blothches of flour that covered various parts of her. The intent to kill flickered in her eyes as they continued to stay fixated on the ninja ahead of her. His blond spikes were slightly weighed down by the piles of flour adorning them, leaving small trails of flour to continuously sprinkle off in a treading trail.

Like hers, his deep cerulean eyes were very prominent through his flour covered figure.

"Why the hell are you getting on me?It's not my fault you were to busy drooling all over Shikamaru to avoid running into me!"

"Nani?!"

Naruto let out a suprised yell as Ino picked up her speed, causing him to do just as such.

**Flashback**

"Ramen, Ramen, Ramen!" His cheerful voice hummed in tune as he giddily paced the streets leading to Ichiraku. It hadn't been long since the sun had risen, and the streets were yet to be crowded with everyday villagers. Shops were just beginning to open, owners scrambling around inside to set up, markets outside finding themselves being straightened.

As he rounded the corner his cerulean eyes caught sight of the familiar stand not to far down the street. His eyes slightly squinted as he noticed no steam coming from the stand, his nose wrinkling as there was no smell of ramen to invade.

Hands in his pockets, the blonde-haired ninja did his best to casually stroll by.

He stopped in front of the abandoned stand, his curious eyes looking up the sign above its curtain lengths.

"Ah!" He let his hands snap up to the sides of his face as his cerulean eyes went over the content of the sign.

Ichiraku.

Closed.

For.

The.

Day…

He couldn't help but sink down to the ground dramatically.

--

He had lost the cheerfulness in his slightly slumped over figure as he walked the streets. He seemed to drag his feet as he traveled, hardly discernable mutterings escaping his frowned lips. The unexpected grumble that sounded from his stomach was very audible.

"I know, I know." He brought up a hand to rub his stomach, cooing it into submission.

His attention was distracted from his peculiar situation as he heard distant shouting that sounded itself from not to far away. His curiousity got the better of him again as he rounded the next corner, his cerulean eyes focusing on Ino, the source of the shouting.

"Shikamaru! Help me carry them!"

Naruto continued walking, taking mind not to bud into the situation.

Nara Shikamaru rested on a rooftop, arms underneath his head as rested his eyes. The sky overheard was adorned with many scattered clouds, slowing traveling in direction.

"Carry them yourself."Shikamaru cracked open an eye to glance down at the blonde-haired kunoichi, lazily. "You need to anyway."

Naruto continued in his travels, beginning to make his way past the arguing duo.

"Shikam-."She was cut off as she ran into Naruto, bag of flour at hand.

**End Flashback**

Their two figures whizzed past numerous crowds.

--

Three heavy paper-back bags let out a small thud as they dropped to the ground. Their contents of food supplied hint to their source stemming from the market. And their loudness as they met the ground indicated the extent of their heaviness.

Haruno Sakura sighed, using her forearm to wipe the beads of sweat that had long since perspired on her forehead. She took the quick moment of break to slightly relax, regaining some stamina before she proceeded to pick up one of the bags.

Today, the sun was blazing, its rays burning into its victims, one of which happened to be her. And shopping on any other day was not an option. She just wished she had someone like Naruto to help her carry the bags, but she didn't have a clue where he was. And as if on que, she stopped as the echoe of yells traveled to her ears. The yelling continued, becoming more and more familiar by the moment. Curious gaze, Sakura brought a hand up to slightly sheild her eyes from the glare of the sun as she looked off into the distance. She squinted more so as she caught sight of two particular figures speeding down the road, causing great commotion.

"Naruto?"

She only had a few seconds to view to two before they whizzed past her, bringing winds of dust and flour. She stood slightly dumfounded as her clothes ruffled, and as she inhaled some of the flour that had streamed of the two. Brining a hand up to her face, she let out a few coughs and hacks before bringing her gaze back to the two before they dissapeared into the distance. With a peculiar look on her face, she simply nudged her shoulders before proceeding to pick up the bags.

--

With great balance she held the bags against her chest as she slightly leaned back, allowing a free hand to unlock and open the door to her house. Taken a quick moment to carefully readjust the grocery bags before proceeding into her house. A few steps in, she slip out of her shoes before taking a step up onto the glossy wooden floor. She hurried into the kitched before almost throwing the bags up onto the counter with a grunt of releif.

Placing a hand on the edge of the counter for support, she slightly leaned over, seemingly to catch her breath, but she had brought up her other hand, lightly grasping her abdomen. It still stung, even when she did every day things like this.

She became completley still, her hairs stood on end as a slight draft moved past her. Almost immediately she brought her head up, doing nothing to move from her bent over position as she let her emerald orbs transition their one-hundred-eighty degree angle. She let out a small sigh as she saw no one, and shrugged her shoulders for the second time that day. She stood up fully, reaching her hands into the first bad to pull out its contents. The first she grabbed were the large celery hanging out of the bag due to their length.

She took out the rest of the veggies, splaying them on the tiled counter next to a cutting board. She always like to cut them up before storing them.

She had starting cutting, a large knife fought against the toughness of the vegetalbes, easily winning as it thumped against the wooden cutting board, evenly cutting the vegetables in place.

It was then that the same feeling overcame her, like a breeze, sweeping past her.

She let her emerald yes cautiously wander around the kitched as she continued to cut the food, she did so casually, having the feeling that something was watching her. In a casual, well-hidden move, she brought her hand to her side as an act of flattening out her clothing. She didn't feel her weapon pouch. Her eyes than transitioned into the other open room, looking to the glass stand, foundation to her rugged, yellow-colored weapons pouch.

--

It was from another's view that could see the pink-haired kunoichi moving swiftly through the kitchen, expertly preparing food. As her emerald eyes looked into the adjacent room, the view transitioned there as well, resting on the same weapons pouch as she.

--

Her brows furrowed together, signifying she was becoming more restless, uncomfortable. She focused her gaze to the carrots she was cutting below, carrots that she had been cutting calmly. As each moment passed, the knife she was using met the cutting board harder, faster.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she almost slammed the knife to the side of the cutting board before turning on her heals, and using her hands for support as she leaned her back against the counter. Her gaze transitioned around once again before she pushed herself off the counter, and made her way into the other room. Her anxious gaze fixated on the glass stand where her weapons pouch one was. Her stomach almost dropped, and her heart fluttered upon seeing the translucent glass, foundation to no weapons pouch.

Letting out a barely discernable breath, she slowly turned, letting her gaze travel around the room, she stayed like that for a moment, taking note of all the other open rooms. Could she possibly have been hallucinating?

She turned around to look at the glass stand once again, only to let out a hardly discernable gasp as she observed the weapons pouch resting on the stand as if it had always been. It was then that she let her eyes slightly widen, and that she made a grab for her pouch, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

As soon as she touched her weapons pouch, a sharp, peircing noise nearly deafened her as a flash of deep red eyes invaded her vision. As soon as it had come, it had gone. She spun around, eyes frantically looking around, senses flaring out. After a moment, she let out a deep sigh of releif, closing her eyes as she clutched the weapons pouch to her chest, calming herself down.

She then checked her bag, seeing that every single weapon was in there, not hinting to any way of being tampered with.

Maybe...maybe her mind really was playing with her.

Her gaze then traveled to the clock resting upon the wall to her side. It was then that her emerald gaze widened.

--

"Sakura, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't make arriving late a habit." Tsunade's gaze was focused on her paperwork as she lectured her, her tone monotone, signifying that it really didn't bother her at all, just that it was more so obligation to expect timely arrival from all of those called to a mission.

"Arimasen." She quietly apologized while bowing her head.

The Hokage let out a breif smile at her student's formalness.

"Well now that you're here, I have a new mission for you."Sakura lifted her head up from her bow, her eyes curious, almost taken back. "We are very short on ninjas right now, and were sending out all the ANBU that we are able. However, there are none that have quite the same ability you possess in the medical field, as well as persuasion and illusion skills. And that's something we need. Interested?"

"O-Of course." Sakura replied, her voice serious. "What do I need to do?"

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

It was raining hard outside, the quick, endless pattering continuously echoing onto itself, moving the forest with sound that was otherwise absent as all life had burrowed in safety from the relentless pouring. The sun had already taken its retreat from the sky, letting darkness cover them, and leaving the only source of the light the luminescent rays from the cratered moon. It illuminated the features of a large opening in the forest, the talls trees, surrounding it on either side. There were many figures standing around, seemingly guarding something, scouting for intruders.

Shadows quickly moved across the large terrain of the forest, using trees as cover to their position. As the merciless ran pounded against their bodies, the recoil provided sight to the outlines of their already soaked bodies.

One lone, smaller figure split off from the rest, to a spot that was further away from those patrolling, and near one lone Sound patrol. The brief stroke of lighting allowed a flash sight of the detailed, colorful mask - one such that was a mask to all of their faces.

_**This is first and foremost a mission of retrieval, a retrieval of data. **__**Insight.**__** You'll be going into our surrounding forest, which would seem to be safe, however with these times of war upon us, status is unkown. And because of this unknown status it is under of jurisdiction that we eliminate any who trespass onto our land with bad intent.  
**_

The other small group kept on flanking in the opposite direction than this lone person, stealthiness allowing them at a closer position the bee's hive.

_** We've recently found new of a traitor among our ranks, he had long since fled, and we've finally found out his last known position. He's been contentiously leeking important information into deadly hands, and needs to be stopped - however , not this time around if it becomes too much of a risk.**_

--

The lone, smaller figure stepped out from the sanctuary of the trees, walking straight towards the lone shinobi. The moment he spotted her he was equipped with a kunai, but before he was able to speak, the figure raised their mask so as to allow sight to emerald orbs. A strand of pink hair fell to stick on her face as the shifting of her mask ruffled her hair. She held her hand in a seal as she looked directly into the man's eyes with a swiftness to rival. He then completley froze, as if in a trace, the kunai fell out of his hands as every part of him focused on her.

_**I fear the Sound are involved. With this war going on, it's not doubtful. And if they are, they could be anywhere in our forest, priming an attack. They must be stopped.**_

Haruno Sakura said nothing as she turned, looking over her shoulder to scan the insignia carved onto the man's forehead protector. Sound. Not allowing any of her calculated thoughts to show through her demeanor, she slyly waved a finger, directing him to follow her. And like a dog he did.

He was her information source, and she'd be damned if she lay a finger on him before she got what she needed out of him, she could risk no slippage due to brain injury.

--

_**It is vital to be stealthy and accurate on this mission. Anything other than that puts you all in an ever more dangerous situation.**_

The ANBU accompanying Sakura had now reached a large distance in the opposite direction, timing their actions as to let their be no outbreak of commotion. Swift, silent, effortless was their goal.The first ANBU went up behind a pair of unexpecting Sound shinobi. Using both hands that were equipped with kunais to slit their throats. He caught them in the process, making sure the least amount of noise emitted from them.One by one, they went down, all oblivious to how their deaths happened.

In only minutes they arrived at a big opening in the forest. There was a small cabin resting near it's center, a gushing river flowing beside. The shadows that danced inside due to a lit fire hinted to recent occupation.

--

_**You must surround the target, and leave no time for escape. Sakura, I don't want you anywhere near them when this happens. Traps could be everywhere, defenses heavy - the possibilities are endless.  
**_

"I'd just like to have a quick conversation with you is all." She had fully taken off her mask now, setting it onto the muddy earth beside her. She was sitting upon a tree log, as was the stupefied Sound member. "It'd calm me down a bit, make me feel less scared."

"S-sure, anything." He slightlly stumbled with his words, almost intimidated by her presence, anxious with disgusting desire.

"Good." She chirped, knowing full well how her coy smile would entice him to her demands. "I happen to be out here with a few friends, we like to take walks out here sometimes, you know, being that it is our surrounding forest. And it turns out that it's not even safe to do that. Lucky i was with my friends, or something bad might have happened to me."

He almost seemed to jump at her admittance. "I would die before I let anything happen to you." His voice was stern and genuine, however pompous.

"Oh, thank you, but i don't want fighting, or blood shed." Her innocent, tempting voice only furthered his loyalty. Whatever jutsu she had used completely tampered with is mind, leaving his allegiance solely upon her. "However it can't be avoided if we don't stop the source. And find out why exactly they are here in the first place. Also," She breifly lowered her gaze as tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ears. "I'm worried about my friends, I feel as though somethings wrong, as if the bad person that they've been looking for knew we were coming along this nightly walk. So i was hoping you could help me."

"What can I do to help?"

"Well, I see that by your forehead protector you're with them. Though the reason why I'm talking to you is because I felt that you were different. More pure-minded, good."

_Stupid to be more like it._

"I'd really appreciate it if you told me everything you know."

_**However, if possible, information could be crucial to us. You are responsible for gathering any information that you can, in whatever way possible. Reporting straight to me.**_

--

"We can't be away from Sakura for too long. Worst case scenario, one of you escape from here, and find her. Your life will be hers."

**_There are only a few of you so you must take this with the utmost caution. DON'T be reckless.Think before you take any action, even one to save another fellow comrade_._They already know that YOU are a top priority, Sakura, so they will sacrifice for you if and when needed to. Please take care._**

The was a simultaneous sounding of agreements and consents to the leader's words. There was no doubt that his was Sound, and as easy as they were to kill, their plans and schemes were always cunning. There was always something hidden, some underlying factor that meant victory or defeat. It made them all the more dangerous.

Something really was wrong, and they wanted to figure it out before it happened. It was why they didn't rush to the cabin, flaking one sides. It was the first rustle of a nearby bush that stopped them, allowing them to see and avoid the line of kunais that whizzed towards them.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **

**Sorry for the short chapter that was filled with lameness, no fun action or tense scenes. My bad.**

**Wishfully more action next chapter. We'll have to see when i start writing it.  
**


	10. Chap 9: Mission: Bated Meetings

**A/N:** THanks so much for the reviews! I hope i managed to udate faster than i did before and ill make it another goal to update even sooner!Also i hope you guys like it!

Enjoy!

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 9: Mission : Bated Meetings **

(o)

(o)

(o)

The pattering of the merciless rain acted as a meticulous background sound to the eerie silence of the full-mooned night; there was a harmony of different patterings, each unique as the rain pounded hard on the different surfaces inhabiting the area. Darkness enshrouded every surface, clouded the views of all that were not animal to the forest; nothing other than the moonlight provided a source of direction, condolence. Nothing other than the brief flashes of lightning provided an impending foreboding.

_**If you discover any importantly dire information, you come straight to me. Am I clear, Sakura ?**_

Her emerald eyes wavered with wariness as he finished his last words, her face stern with determination, unchanging to the drops of rain that continuously soaked her. She had hesitantly raised into a standing position, hearing all that she needed to know; knowing that she had no time to waste; wasting what was left of her reservations against action.

Everything, from the beginning, from months ago, was a cold, horrible, ruthless trap. One that would be inescapable if she didn't do anything. Right now.

When she bolted from her position, she didn't run back the way she had come - she didn't make her way back to Konoha, as she had been instructed to. She was headed forward, yearning with all her might to save those who she had come here with. She was a medical ninja after all, not a messenger.

She would fight to heal, at the risk of her life.

And hope on all that was good and evil that she prevailed, that she would be able to stop the events that were slowly unfolding to the future, at the moment stop the impending threat of this night. Everyone's future depended on it.

There was no turning back.

--

The rain was coming down in constant sheets now, thunder cracking overhead, the mud beneath them wet and slippery. Fire and electricity were blinding in the midnight darkness - battle cries and clashing kunais deafening in the forest clearing.

The attack had been started with the armada of kunai that had been thrown towards them in a wave. The battle had initiated when they had retaliated, first flung kunais expertly whirling into a number of the enemies' throats. The struggle had continued as waves of Sound emerged from all sides of the surrounding brush, intent on kill - ambush a success.

One of the ANBU, seemingly more built and powerful in the way he held himself, leadership emanating from his every pore, eyed the mass of Sound shinobi closing in on them, amber-colored gaze calm, intensely dark. He had long ago torn off his mask, being the sole one to do so as it was futile to wear such in the night - it limited eye sight with the night, and in that same atmosphere it was near unthinkable for one to read the insignias of the forehead protectors they wore - none would survive long enough to relay information if sight had been granted. Tenshi allowed no other thought to cloud his mind, no panic to hinder his action; as a sort of shock still continued to weigh on his other ANBU comrades, his countenance was calm - his will determined to set the example. He was commander of this mission, he could do no other than provide the sightly display of strength needed for them to work as a team. A few handseals resulted in a burst of chakra around the foundation of his feet, licking at him like flames, covering him like a second layer of skin, forcing his illuminated sand-colored hair to dance with it's currents. He brought up a lone handseal in the mist of it all, and as if his eyes were assigning targets, they slowly, briefly moved over half of the circle of shinobi that continued to hone in on his group. It was then that he threw his arms out wide on either side of him, creating a wall of fire, it's source stemming from the core of his body - this wall of fire flared out away from him before outreaching on all sides to form a circle around the group of ANBU before reaching wider and larger as it traveled away from them to engulf the full first line of the Shinobi closing in on them.

More immediately replaced the fallen, however the numbers had dwindled greatly.

"Take this chance to break through the line, allow them no surrounding of us." He spoke, his calm voice loud and clear, rumbling through the sound of the rain.

And they did , in a straight barricade of a line they rushed to a certain side where the Sound replacement was slower.

One of the ANBU members then tossed three kunai simultaneously, hitting the same number of enemies with excellent precision. Noting how close the enemy was now, he pulled out one last kunai, moving to hand-to-hand combat position; a somewhat loud clanking noise sounded as kunais clashed breifly, he had already pulled back to swipe at the jugular, execution succesful. The rest of the ANBU's mirrored this same action simultaneously as they pushed against the small line. They broke through, breifly retreating a small distance before facing the diverted enemy.

It was then that Tenshi sensed a growing confidence emanate from the rest of the ANBU. The next part was cake.

Steel clashed against steel repeatedly, heartbeats quickened, breaths became more labored. And the Sound numbers seemed to be endless.

"Got Dammit!" Tenshi yelled out in frustration. The other ANBU's had let out similar curses as the simple hand-to-hand combat was proving unuseful. They had wanted to spare their chakra, but realized that reservation was unfounded in this situation. They didn't have time. Things had gone completley wrong, they had no reason to be cautious with their actions- positions had already been blown. They had been expected. Feeling an onslaught of fury, he twisted around to his side towards and incoming shinobi and stabbed once with his kunai before slightly leaning back, and bringing up his leg to pummel that same area with an iron hard kick. Channeling his chakra to his fists he loaded a series of puches into a trio that had charged him, ending with them falling a few yards back, unmoving.

One of the ANBU had paused to preform a few handseals, the words he uttered later unaudible to the sounds of fighting. He had shoved his palms forward, holding them stationary as the wind around them started to pick up. Many leaves had departed from their trees, currents of the rain and also stopped in their descent towards the earth, moving with the new group of leaves and wind towards the largest group of Sound shinobi. The combined amount of water and wind-razored sharp leaves annihilated the line Sound shinobi.

Following the jutsu, the two remaining ANBU had each thrown to large shadow windmills, taken out what was left of the large armarda.

The fighting had ceased, breathing slightly heavy as the ANBU regained their ground, senses flaring to find no more threat in the immediate vicinity. They had made their way back to the clearing which homed the small cabin, wary eyes transitioning all around as they proceeded with caution. They had known there was no way the man they were looking for would still be their after all the commotion. But they also knew that he would not have simply left - power made men like those arrogant, and he would no doubt be somewhere near, waiting for the strike, as if it were a game to him.

Protocol was for them to search the cabin, and find any information they could.

They didn't even make it closer to the cabin as they halted in their movement, eyes wavering in the direction of the surrounding forest. They finally fixated on the figure that walked into the clearing, his entrance purposely sounding with the brushing of the bushes sprouting from the earth. He had paused as sooned as he stepped out, hands finding themselves in his pockets, back slightly moving to lean against a tree behind.

(Song : Naruto Shippuden OST 21)  
(Continue replaying)

"So , a few idiots said you bunch of Leaf were looking for me." His voice was of monotone, tone deep with coldness, however laced with amusement that stemmed from disinterest. "Had the audacity to tell me to run, as if my life was in some type of danger."

--

Sakura swiftly dodged a punch from her attacker, and quickly counter-attacked by delivering a kick to his stomach. She followed with using her other free leg to roundhouse kick his face. He dropped to the ground either dead or unconscious. As more came at her she ran towards them and jumped, delivering a walking kick to two who were right next to eachother. When she landed, Sakura punched another, only to be grabbed from behind. Both her arms were locked behind her.

Using the ninja behind her for support Sakura, brought both her feet up form the ground and kicked another guy that was in front of her as hard as she could. She then immediately, used all the force she could and head butt the guy behind her with the back of her head. She spun around while he was still up and roundhouse kicked him . He flew into a few others.

They came back up and charged at her again, this time with kunai, the first one that came at her had the honor of getting his kunai taken from him. She grabbed his hand and twisted it till the kunai dropped into her other hand. The pink-haired kunouchi brought her kunai up and sliced is neck before lowered into another fighting stance, eyeing the rest that surrounded her with a wave of annoyance.

She wanted to conserve as much chakra as she could, for medical uses.

Wasting no time she let out a small battle cry as she slammed her fists into the ground. The earth on all sides cracked, bursting upwards as pink light traveled through it, rays pointing upwards, creating the image as if a ray from heaven was tearing along the ground. It engulfed all the surrounding Sound shinobi, ending with complete silence.

She didn't even leave herself time to rest as she started from her position, swift speed and balance allowing her to jump from one soaking tree branch to the next.

This whole perimeter of the forest was crawling with Sound, they had made sure to allow no short number. And that thought alone made her click her tongue in frustration, if she had to fight through all of them, she wouldn't find the others fast enough. Her desperation was rising with each passing moment, the only solace of comfort the fact that she seemed to be following the right trail, she still had time. Though seemingly not enough before it was too late. The mission had already failed, the simple knowledge of who they would encounter before they had a chance to infiltrate the rest of this place, made sure of that. They had been sent on this mission solely for the retrieval of information, and if they got lucky, find the one traitor who was leaking information to the Sound, the last spotted sight of the weasel had been around these woods; but they would not find that person here, he had been long gone, possibly even dead now. Most likely due to the one person that was here now.

The thought of this particular part of her newly-found information being true sent chills through her spine , fear and anxiety into her soul. She already knew something was wrong if they weren't headed in her direction. Terribly wrong. And every bone in her body screamed at her to retreat, not just for the sake of her life, but for the dire information that needed to be in the Hokage's hands. However her heart willed her to continue, to bring courage with her as she fought to save whatever life she could, even as her mind rationalized that there was no hope - even as her memories hoped for something that seemed impossible. Futile.

If she didn't reach her comrades before they ran into _him, _they would be in grave danger. They weren't ready to face off with the S-class criminal who Konoha had given up on retrieving years ago - who was marked as a serious, powerful enemy. There would be no chance of them capturing him, bringing him back to face judgment, it was impossible. Surviving a battle with him, it was impossible. And so, lives were her only concern right now, the immediate information she held - went crazy over, her only worry.

Uchiha Sasuke would show them no mercy.

--

The surprise was evident in their stances, the rightly founded fear reflected through Tenshi's wavering gaze.

"You are Leaf, aren't you?" His lazy Sharingan gaze noticeably transitioned to Tenshi, as if scanning over the barely discernible forehead protector - even in the night, sight must have been granted easily to him through use of his bloodlimit. He let out a small grunt of dry amusement as his affirmations were correct. "I figured that I would relay that same message to you all, seeing as how you've found yourselves with more trouble than you expected." He seemed to be revering to the warning given to him earlier, that told him to retreat.

He continued to lean against the tree, closing his eyes as he crossed one leg over the other, showing even more so how calm and relaxed he was, unthreatened.

"Run. Prolong your doomed existences, cling to your lives pathetically. And I'll decide later if I feel like playing the hand of God." It was obviously an aphorism to taking their lives. He really had expected them to take his offer.

There was a small moment of silence as they continued to eye Uchiha Sasuke, a newfound daring sparking in their countenances.

"All ANBU into your postions.." Sasuke lazily opened his eyes at the command, still reflecting a type of disinterest at their attempts. He remained in his same position, even as they disappeared from theirs, reappearing to have him and the lone tree he rested against surrounded. Waisting no moment, and with quick speed, they all preformed symmetrical hand seals, holding their hands up with the last one. One cue a blue, circular seal sprouted on the ground underneath them, weird kanji reading in all directions; Sasuke found himself in the middle of this contraption. He didn't move from the spot. He remained stoic, calm, simply letting them carry out their technique with so much as a flicker attentiveness.

It was only when misted blue hands shot up from underneath him, grasping at his ankles, holding him stationary did Sasuke handlessly push his back off of the tree in timing to it's disintegration - the particles of the tree simply floated away in blue orbs. His hands then calmly removed themselves from his pockets as he crossed his arms loosely in front of his torso. He stood with such calmness, bored disinterest, seemingly uncaring as to the predicament he found himself in, trapped in the middle of a technique. He seemed, sure of himself.

"Fox!" The first ANBU member slammed his fist into the ground. The faded image of a Fox appeared in front of him.

"Bird!" The next slammed his fist into the ground. The faded image of a huge Pheonix appeared in front of him.

"Lion!" The last slammed his fist into the ground. The faded image of a Lion appeared in front of him.

Tenshi sealed his hands together as a blue light surrounded his fists. He brought them apart roughly, and slowly as if it took a great deal of strength to do so - the separation of this hands left a trail of chakra to flow inbetween and behind.

"Dragon!" He slammed both his fists into the ground. All the images of the different animals ran together in front of him, contorting into the fiery image of a Dragon. Its eyes glared to the center of the still formed, and large circle beneath them, to the S-class criminal calmly returning the glare. It shot up into the sky weaving in and out of itself as the light around it seemed to grow in intensity. Their was a breif moment where it paused, before it's body started to lean downwards.

The final roar was heard as it dived down, destination in a striaight line towards the Uchiha who's head was upturned, Sharingan gaze calmly fixated on the bluely transparent beast.

It was then that the first trickle of dark-colored chakra flowed from beneath Sasuke's feet. It was brief, allowing a moment of pause after, and only the first cessation to the immense dark chakra that exploded from underneath him. This happened just as the dragon had reached him; it exploded into a blinding light that encompased the entire area to which they inhabited.

Winds picked up, trees were uprooted, all sorts of boulders and forest debris instantly were thrown far from the area of impact.

It took a moment for things to fall silent, for the pattering of the rain to become prominent in it's sounding. There was no thunder, there was no lightning - these occurrences seemed to have halted with the occurrence of the large blast. Sight was finally restored as all eyes darted to the center of where the blue circle had been.

Uchiha Sasuke stood in it's center, in the same exact position as he had been in before - up straight, arms crossed.

Unscathed.

--

Her heart had already started thumping louder, even before the large, blinding night had clouded her vision. Now, she was beyond desperation. Fear for the ANBU had rumbled in her gut. That was their technique, she had seen them practice in the rare times that she had trained with them.

She had no idea where the blinding light originated - it had come and gone, seemingly from all directions. The sheer impact had sent enough force from the large distance to send her flying back from her mid-leap. The impact left her momentarily stunned on the ground, eye squeezed shut as the pain erupted from her abdomen. The instant soaking of the clothers over it assumed her recent would had been reopened. Blood would flow fast. However, it didn't concern her as it should of, her mind was elsewhere as she forced her non complacent body to it's feet. She started her run again, pushing the pain to the back of her mind, perservering through the sudden weakness that downed every part of her. The fear.

They had found him. And he was going to kill them.

_Run ... Run!_

Her inside, horrid scream of a plea was for them, as her worried emerald orbs flickered with her desperation.

--

His face was slightly obscured from view as he seemed to focus on the last particle of blue light that disappeared from beneath him. The ominous dark chakra still continued to swirl, slowly, forebodingly around him, flowing from his body as if it were seeping through his pores. The way he stood, unmoving, with such a complete stillness, spoke all sorts of danger.

"You know, with my time in Konoha all those years ago, and as the Leaf-acclaimed genius of my generation, I had always wondered why everyone else seemed sooo.. stupid. " His voice started out quiet, slow, ushering of power, darkness . He seemed contemplative. "Why it was that, as tools of warfare, shinobi couldn't at least put the effort into knowledge, to make up for their obvious lacks of strengh. And I couldn't figure it out , why they lacked the necessary intelligence that would fuel their common sense enough to be able determine what actions were reasonable, and what actions were, simply, idiotic." His head shifted, raising up to allow his cold eyes to snap to them. His voice was sudden, icy cold, all amusement gone as he seemed to be dissapointed, unforgiving, even in his calmness. "What you all just did, right now .. would be an example of idiotic." His tone was laced with venom as his Sharingan gaze seemed to pierce through them, glittering like hot red ice, as if they had caught and trapped the reflection of a lightning whip as it sizzled across the dark sky. All too suddenly the dark chakra surrounding him dispersed, dissapearing completley.

It was then that the thunder cracked overhead.

"Idiotic actions annoy me, and the impotent fools behind those idiotic actions irk me." The speed in which he dissapeared and reappeared before them was unimaginable. His fists were once again his pockets as his menacing gaze looked down upon them, as his close presence allowed him to almost taste their surprised trepidation. "Of all the horrible life decisions you have made, this will be the last." He let them jump away from him, contemplating their stay before a soundless decision made them disappear in retreat.

"Run. Pathetically try and cling to life." His Sharingan gaze menacingly looked on after in the direction to which they retreated. He waited a few moments before he too, disappeared. His destination assumable.

--

A spark of joy had flashed through her as she saw all four of them running towards her. However her heart dropped as she saw the shadow jump out of the trees further back. As if they noticed this, and noticed Sakura's position, three of them had turned in their directions, acting as a diversion as Tenshi continued his way too her. She started running towards him, knowing that he was injured, that all of them were injured. The fact alone meant that Sasuke was still toying with them, however it didn't rest her heart one bit.

He tired of games quite quickly.

Before she even reached Tenshi, she could hear his distant shouts.

"Sakura run! Run now!" The trepidation shaking her body made it yearnable to follow his command, yet her will kept her running towards him, even as the some of the blood from her abdomen had trickled to her leg. Her action produced a spark of desperation in Tenshi's eyes as he picked up his speed. When they collided, he breifly halted, his arms reaching out to her as he forecefully pushed her in the direction he wanted her to go. It took his momentum to start her, and he ran with her, continuously applying pressure to keep her going, even as she looked on behind them, wide eyes fearful with indecision, worry as what to do.

"Keep going!" He commanded her as he halted to a complete stop, seemingly getting ready to come back the way he came, to help the others who had bravely made a deversion for Sakura. Sakura stopped too, stubborness her number one pronounced attribute at the moment.

"I can help you guys!" She argued, though her voice shakey, not in the least confident, but desperate.

**_They already know that YOU are a top priority, so they will sacrifice for you if and when needed to.  
_**

"You can help us by getting far away from here. We had only ran away this long because we weren't sure where you were, we were afraid you might be too close and in a direct line of danger" He started, the complete abhorrence at her actions and the situation he didn't attempt to hide. His voice was forcingly calm, but harsh. "Our fears were correct.. Your safety is my utmost priority...did you see the way the others lead him away from near you?" His eyes burned into her with his rhetorical question. "Do not make their sacrificial actions a waste. Run." He put distance between them, turning away so that his back was facing her. "If you die here, we might as well all die. ." It was his subtle movement of his arm to grasp his side, that alerted Sakura again to the fact that he was injured - the large ANBU cloak hiding any blood that he might have been losing.

"Tenshi-san-"

"If you do not run now you will be directly disobeying my orders." That was no small crime for lower positioned shinobi. "Go!" He said this, amber eyes flashing a warning before he sprinted in the direction he just ran from.

**_Do not disrespect them or myself by willingly putting yourself in danger._**

Letting out a small greif-stricken grunt, Sakura took off, running blindly through the forest.

--

She didn't know how long she had been running, only her heavy breaths whispered of time being long, more than simply seconds. It had been long, hard minutes - ones that bought her more safety, and doomed the others with more suffering.

She was overwhelmed with a rain of emotions. There was pain, the stinging of her abdomen, the burning of her muscles as weakness due to bloodloss starved them. There was indecision, troubling her thoughts, the choice she had made to obey, to flee like a coward. And upmost there was fear, worry, the want to flee, the need to help. The need to actually do something to save another, for once.

And it was that same need that halted her in her tracks, despite her mind's rationalizing, her bodie's yearning. That same determination that made her disobey the ANBU leader's orders, disobey the Hokage's orders. The same uncaringness that allowed her to be willing to accept the consequences her actions would bring her. The possibility of death.

_I'm sorry, everyone_

Lives were on the line, petty rules and orders meant nothing to her in the face of something so precious.

She paused, closing her eyes as she tilted her heard upward towards the pouring sky, unflinching to the pounding rain. As she did this, her senses immediately flared out, locating the threads of energy that represented chakra. The moment the first caught her awareness, the bolted from her position, moving swiftly through the darkness. She paid no heed to dodging the hanging branches and twigs that would cut at exposed areas of her skin - producing minimal scratches.

--

The only type of regret that formed when she saw Tenshi, the ANBU leader whose orders she had directly disobeyed, was that she had for a moment, abandoned him , allowed him and the others to risk their lives further. He was hunched over, on his hands and knees, calmly fighting for easy air. She noticed the exact moment as he dashed towards him, when he had sensed her energy; his eyes had transitioned to hers in recognition, worry.

When she had reached him, her hands gently grabbing at him, easing him him to a sitting position, he let out a dry grunt of amusement, however agitated. "No use telling you to get out of here, Haruno Sakura." He had come to terms with the fact that she would be so bold as to defy him, put herself in danger. It still noticeably bothered him, but he made humor of it all.

She didn't share his humor, her heart worried about how pale he looked ."No, there isn't. There also isn't any use telling me that I'm going to be in trouble with Tsunade-sama, or that you aren't badly and not in need of my medical assistance." She continued her point with one last reminder. "I'm a medical ninja, not a messenger." He didn't protest, only breifly squeezed his eyes in pain, simultaneous to the small chuckle as he eased his back against the tree behind him, hand still clasped around his ribs, unseeable through the large cloak he wore. He was surprisingly calm, and seemingly defeated in terms of worrying about the consequences anymore. He seemed expecting those, awaiting battle once again, and ready to do so. Not with her, she knew that. Did he think Sasuke was going to come back?

For some reason the thought exploded a turbulent of emotions, all morbid, intense. She didn't know what she'd do when she saw him, what she'd say. What she was supposed to do or say. She hadn't seen him for months, she hadn't taken the time to come with the terms of what had happened, the day she had almost died by his uncaring hands. She didn't know how stable she was with the recent events to face him. Even now, just the thoughts coursing through her head brought on an unfounded trepidation. And she swallowed down as she focused being of use. To assess damages, to heal the person in front of her, the one who needed her attention, not her ridiculous thoughts.

"He's toying with us." He started, his voice light in it's calmness. "I don't know how the others are, I met up with them once, and we were able to land a few hits on him, I'm just not sure so if it was really us doing it, or him letting us" He breifly paused as the movement to help Sakura removed his dirtied cloak stunned him with pain. "This isn't mercy. This is twisted. Two times he could have killed me, and he didn't." He continued as Sakura tore open his shirt, ripping it before discarding it to the side, professionally assessing his injuries. The rain helped to wash the currents of flowing blood away.

"Is this the worst of your wounds?" She asked emotionlessly. Her inquiry brought her gaze up to his face. It had really actually only been the first time she had really seen him, no mask, up close. He was very handsome, his face nicely chiseled, skin tone a bit darker than hers, tan to the point he was almost bronze. His deep amber orbs were the only part of him that revealed the extent of pain he bore. "I have a laceration on my right knee, but hardly anything to look at," She could feel the humor rising in his tone once again. "And I'm not to open to the idea of taking off my pants in front of a lady."

She had forced herself to giggle. Intellectally she knew it was funny, but with all the emotions coursing through her, she couldn't pick out that funny bone that would have made her laugh easier. A lightish blue glow started to emanate from her hands as he placed them over the gaping wound in his abdomen. She didn't have the time to completely heal it, she just did her best to stop the bleeding, and close up the wound to the point where it'd be difficult to reopen. She wanted to get to the others, had to get to the others.

Both of them had stood up, Sakura helping Tenshi do so. And it seemed only then that he had noticed the reopened wound on her own abdomen. He moved to say something, however visibly tensed, becoming deathly still as he recognized the disruption in the air. Sakura had noticed his pause, his tension feeding hers, her awareness feeling the crackle of power that had seemed to still the currents of rain.

"He's here." The injured shinobi warned. And as if she needed to hear that in order to belief it, her heart stopped, a slight shiver crawled up her spine. Anticipation was at it's highest peak.

There was no rustling of the trees of shubbery, no break in the wind - the rain didn't even falter. He had appeared before them in the clearing with immense speed, his countenace brimming with power. He had already started walking closer to him, his thoughts on the comrade to her side.

It was very noticeable, the way his Sharingan gaze had stopped, along with his movements, the moment his Sharingan gaze had found her, examined her, recognized her. Moved to meet her wide emerald gaze. He had stopped completley in his movements, his casual steps faltering to a halt. He focused on her, unmoving, as if shocked, surprised, however nothing about his countenace betrayed that.

She couldn't move. She could feel her legs trembling beneath her. There was no shock, there was no surprise. Only fear. She couldn't think right, she couldn't feel right - all of her senses were invaded, beat at with unspeakable power, his perfect amount of muscles seemed to ripple underneath his clothing. His eyes. Cold, menancing. Emotionless, seemed to stare right through her, burn a terrible hole into her soul.

"Sakura, run!" Tenshi's sudden, pleading command penetrated the stun that kept her stationary, vibrated throughout her core, echoed in her mind. And she didn't know if it was his command, or the fear that made her run.

She had snapped either way. She had split from her standing position, her scramblings out of the small clearing both loud and desperate.

There was no hope beating her heart, breathing her lungs. No mind rationalizing her thoughts, her actions. The sight of those eyes had triggered it, her brief insanity. The tingling of her abdomen in memory to the shocking currents of lethal chakra exploding into her. The choice that had been torn from her grasp, the choice for her heart to beat, the choice for her lungs to breath - they had stopped when she didn't want them too, all that time ago. Darkness had enveloped her, when she begged for the light. She could never allow herself to go through that again. She was going crazy, the memory clouding her mind with pain, even more fear. She didn't want to go through that again. She didn't want to feel coldness seeping through her body.

When she looked up at those deep, red, unrelenting eyes, darkness shrouding every other future so that she saw nothing else, she didn't see Uchiha Sasuke. She saw a cold-blooded killer. A powerful, unstoppable murderer. Nothing else registered. No past. No future. She saw the man that had almost suceeded in killing her, ruthlessly, without hesitation. She couldn't think. There were no thoughts about him being her former teamate, the man she claimed to love. She didn't think about their being a possible chance that he might spare her. There were no thoughts of speaking with him, of finding a way to help him with his future. There was only pain. There was only fear. Total and complete. Unwavering.

It was then that the first sob racked her body, involuntarily shackled her freaking-out mind to a blind hysteria.

She wanted to live. She wanted to go back to Konoha. She wanted to see Naruto again, Kakashi-san, Tsunade-sama, Ino, everyone. She didn't want to die. She didn't want her loved ones to grieve over her. She didn't want it to end like this.

And she could do nothing but let that fear direct her body. Move her exhausted legs one leap after the other. Self-preservation. Inescapable will to survive. There was no shame beating at her conscious because of it. It was natural. It was unfounded. It was something she had never experienced before. And she let it take her away. The moment, she was not a ninja, a tool, a weapon of warfare; she was a human being, a woman, innocent, pleading with herself for survival. Throwing away everything that she had strived for, built, perfected. Nothing would help her live, only running. Nothing would keep her safe, only running.

The rain had slowed to a small drizzle, the darkness of the night had started to recede into the lightness of morning, slowly, a type of darkness still dimming the sky, a type of orangeness attempting to light the sky, however moonlight still prominent, darkness till residing.

It was abrupt, the moment she crashed into the strong, solid chest of the man that appeared in front of her, out of nowhere. She didn't think as she freaked, insanity judging her movements, craziness fueling her strength. Fear gripping at every part of her, desperation sounding with her noises. And they struggled like that, the time immeasurable as she fought his grasp. Resisted his strength. Avoided looking at him. Stopping meant her death. Giving in meant her death. Everything about this situation meant her death.

And then there was hope. Sudden. Miraculous. A speckle of a thread looming before her, giving her the chance to grasp it. To feel it, to see it, to hear it. Through him. Through the very one who had caused her breakdown.

"Sakura.." It was barely audible, muttered in a slight whisper, even with the struggling to their clashing, as he finally used brute force to still her flailing hands. He seemed to have spoken her name unconciously, the shock of seeing her hadn't worn off. And it was that name, that word that had stopped her. There was a familiarity in the way her name was spoken; and it was that familiarity, that part of her past that registered in her frantic mind - put a string of sanity in her thoughts. Sakura. It was her name.

Her emerald orbs fluttered open from their previous state of fearful closing. Wide in the moment, they slowly transitioned upward along his strong body, the moonlight allowing sight. They reached the chiseled jaw-line of his face, slowly traveling up it's handsome structure to rest on his eyes. Deep obsidian. His hair, dark. They transitioned back to his gaze, wavering, analyzing.

He had still continued to hold her limp arms high and outward in his grasp, as if he didn't know what to do, as if he was surprised at her reaction earlier, and now. He still seemed unsure if he should release her arms from his grasp. He could feel that he was supporting most of her weight with his hold on her wrists - the way her body slightly leaned away from his, they way her legs were slightly bent, but not feeling the pressure of her weight. She seemed unaware of their bodily positions, her eyes remained awed, wide, almost innocent in their discovery.

"Why are you here?"His inquiry was incredulous, disbelieving in it's demand.

She observed the finger-nail scratches that adorned his stoic face, then transitioned her gaze to look at her upheld arms, fingernails loaded with skin and dried blood - this allowed her to connect her attack to him as her mind multi-tasked with the contemplation the question that had entered her mind, swirling through her brain like a relaxing breeze, calming, soothing.

Memory. Emotion. Feeling. Awareness. It flooded her analyzing mind like waves of ruthless, gushing water. It made her dizzy, it made her weak. She felt the sudden pain of her body, the ache of her muscles, the guilt of her reckless actions, the tears in her throat. The realization that she had lost it for a moment, that she let her fears and nightmares become reality, that she had freaked out needlessly. Not used her intellect.

The first tear traveled down her face as eyes continued to waver.

It was him.

The man that had almost killed her so long ago. The man that didn't kill her now. The man she had been teammates with years in the time that had been past. The man she adored, the man she loved. The man she would do anything for. The man that had suffered, endured, hated, lived for revenge. The man she wanted to help. The man that she couldn't fear, no matter what he did to her or others. He wasn't the kind of man that would hurt someone from his past upon sight, not someone he had once shared a bond with. The battle where he almost killed her, it had been her fault, she provoked him, he lost control. He was in control this time, he would not hurt her. Not now. Not after all that had happened.

He only attacked the people with her because they attacked him first. Yet he showed them mercy in his own way, didn't kill them when he easily could have.

She feared for her death no longer, feared for nothing no longer. She was alive. She was safe. She was with him.

It was just him and her.

Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura.

Standing.

Waiting.

All movement had ceased. All thought had ceased. All breath had ceased.

Only a whisper was left to break the silence of the past and future.

"..Sasu..ke.."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Whew! For some reason I really like how this chapter came out. I was able to delve into the darkness of Sakura's heart - pull out demons and make a chapter solely focused on that, make things more realistic, her reactions, her emotions, her strength.**

YATTA!!

**Ja ne!**


	11. Chap 10: Mission: Reconnaissance

**A/N:** Hey thanks for the Reviews, I appreciate it! And ummz sorry for any of you that didn't like how I used the idea from the other story in my chapter, I guess it was too alike. BUT..that was the only idea I used as I explained earlier. None of these next chapters will have anything to do with the the story, cuz I already said that it was and idea to get me started. SO yea haha.

Hopefully i updated better than i did before XD.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 10: Mission: Reconnaissance**

(o)

(o)

(o)

The moon had begun it's retreat from the sky, and the sun was slowly peaking over the horizon- its first rays shining past the openings in the forest trees, lighting up the earth in their wake. Droplets of water still slowly trickled from the leaves of plants and trees, causing them to glisten in the morning light, hang even lower towards the ground.

There was a small stream traveling in the direction of a small abandoned cabin, located in a small opening from the huddled bunches of trees; there were wild flowers located all over the clearing, in perfect places as to decorate and add a sort of life to the place, naturally.

Uchiha Sasuke didn't glance at the kunochi in his arms, not once, as he casually made his way closer to the cabin.

**_Sakura, you're heavy_**

A distant memory it was, and from which of the two if came from, was unknown. Eithery way, it didn't seem that way now, the way he effortlessly carried her the long distance they had traveled, calm, unbothered. Her weight did not impede his speed, falter his rhythmatic steps.

He didn't pause as he reached the cabin door; a swift push by his foot nudged the door open, it's movement sounding a large, discernable croak. Inside the cabin was much darker than the begging morning rays, the undraped curtains blocked out most of the light; though, Sasuke made his way around the darkness of the cabin without hesitation, and as if he knew the layout, traveled in one direction, as if sight and memory took him to his desination.

He stood over a barely noticeable futon, he had gently placed Sakura onto it, supporting her head until it rested on the pillow. Even in the darkness his obsidian gaze flashed as he looked to the reopened wound vacating her abdomen, one he recognized well.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Tsunade's blond hair fell from around her face as she lifted her head from the huge stack of papers they had been buried into; she put her writing utensil down on her desk, calmly folding her hands as the light knocking sounded her office door.

"Hokage-sama the shinobi you asked for are here, should I let them in?"

"Yes, please." Tsunade answered, her voice some strained from exhaustion and worry it seemed. She had began straightening the papers on her desk, not looking at the shinobi who came in and stood before. It was only when the door had closed behind them, did she raise her gaze to sternly meet their gazes.

"I suppose you all are wondering why I called you here on such urgent notice."

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

* * *


	12. Chap 11: Mission: Laissez Faire

**A/N:** Thanks for the Reviews! Here's another chapter.

**Dislcaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series...I would be the happiest person..not in the world..but i'd be pretty excited...so there it is.

Enjoy!

**Behind The smile**

**Chapter 11: Mission: Laissez Faire**

(o)

(o)

(o)

As her emerald eyes fluttered open, they caught sight of the wooden ceiling above her. Her nostrils inhaled the numerous amounts of fresh air, as her lungs filling with a long, deep breath.

The rays from the sun were shining through the open window, brightly lighting up the accomadations to the small room she occupied. She was alone it seeemd. And it was that same thought, alone, that had allowed her mind to retain memories. Memories of when she was not alone.

And it was then that she bolted up into a sitting position. The sudden movement caused her to hiss in pain as her abdomen burned. She looked down to see the bandaged wound, and her half naked body. In embarrasment she brought the sheet covers up to her, eyes darting around to once again confirm that she was alone. And search for the clothes once adorning her body. They were completley clean, and looking to be slightly damp from what must have been a recent wash.

Her emerald eyes wavered for a moment before she pushed herself off the bed.

She left the wooden door slightly ajar as she slowly walked outside, her curious, wary eyes transitioning around the small clearing, only focusing on rabit suspended above a recently burned out flame as the smell invaded her nostrils. The same wavering shook her eyes as she looked at the expertly skinned rabbit. Ther person who had done so took a lot of time to do so; capturing the rabit, skinning it, cooking it.

She looked around more, noticing other conveniently placed things, however, there was one that was not.

_Sasuke.._

She had the overhwhelming feeling to find him. Find out what was going on.

An unreadable emotin flickered in her curious eyes as she looked around, letting herself travel around the clearing. Her last stop was back into the cabin. She stopped at the doorway, letting her solemn gaze carefully transition around its inside. She caught sight of the uncanny folded paper resting at the foot of the bed, something she hadnt noticed earlier. She slowly walked over to it, picking up the oddly colored paper to slowly ufold it from its creases.

It was a map.

And as she lowered herself to the ground, and splayed it out on the tiled ground, her emerald eyes scanned it, noticing the various markings amidst it. Drawing a path straight to the Hidden village of the Leaf.

There was an unreadable expression on her face as she looked ahead, crumpling the map in her hands before throwing it to the side.

Her face hidden from view, she slowly stood up. She stood there for a moment, silently. And only when she bolted from her position, running out the cabin doorway, was the blank expression on her face noticeable. She continued running, making her way out of the large forest clearing, and into the depths of the deeper parts of the forest, surrounding by countless trees. Her emerald eyes were darting frantically around, searching even as she didn't know where to search.

She had continued running blindly, only slightly slowing down as her breaths became ragged, as the wound located on her abdomen started to bleed through both the bandages and shirt she was wearing. She had stopped when she had come to what looked to be a fourway intersection, each path barely discernable from the other.

Her heart thumped her in chest, and her feet felt like lead as she slowly turned in her stationary posistion, her chest heaving up and down with each breath, the corners of her eyes twinkling with a watery substance.

She bore no facial expression as her knees literally buckled underneath her. She dropped to her hands and knees, and only then did her emerald eyes begin to waver as she stared at the ground. With no motivation, and almost as if her mind was completly void, she tried to get up, but her body did not listen to the commands of her brain. She let out a barely audible huff as he lowered herself to sit on her knees, hands barely supporting her at her side.

It was then that her lips pursed into a smile. And she sat there for a few more moments before the first barely audible grunt of amusement sounded. Before the first tear rolled down her cheek.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Tsunade looked around the room at all the questioning gazes that were directed at her.

She stared into the deep cerulean eyes of Naruto, the village's number one loudest ninja. He had a bored and impatient look on his face, most likely because his daily ramen routine had been interrupted by this sudden notice. Nevertheless, he remained quiet. He wouldn't for long though, the news she had would no doubt upset him, no to be more precise, enrage him. Despite his loud mouth, he was very strong. One of the strongest here in Konoha.

To the right of him sat Hinata. Her pearl eyes showed concern and worry. Tsundae could easily assume that she was the shyest ninja of the village. She couldn't recall if she had ever heard her speak a single word. But then she flashed back to when HInata warned her that Sasuke was with the Sound. She was very skilled despite her courtesy and self-doubt.

To Naruto's right she was met with another set of pearl eyes. But unlike the gentle shyness of Hinata's eyes, these were stern and almost cold. They were void of much emotion. They could actually be intimidating, of course not to her, but to the enemy. Hyuuga Neji. Next to Sasuke he was the number one rookie of Konoha. Now he was along the top line of the strongest for his age. He was as strong as any other jounin, even ANBU.

She looked past Neji into the chocolate eyes of Tenten, the weapons master. She had trained herself to become worthy of the title "Weapons Master." Her skills were exceptional.

This lead her to her next pair of eyes. A deep charcoal color, adorned with long eyelashes. Taijitsu specialist Rock Lee. Despite his inability to perform ninjistu techniques he was as good as any other shinobi. His skills were beyond exceptional, both in strength and speed. Sakura was also very dear to him as well, so he might not take the news well either.

Tsunade looked into the slitted eyes of Kiba. She couldn't forget his partner Akamaru either. Together they proved to be lethal to the enemy, with their many techniques. They would help this mission even more so.

The next person she was greeted with dark sunglasses. Shino. The bug manipulator. He was very skilled, despite her dislike of bugs or any kind of insect.

Next to Kiba was Chouji. Surprisingly he did not have a bag of chips with him. He sat up straight like all the other's and waited for her to begin her speech. He had stayed in the same form he had on the mission many years ago to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. He was skinny, even handsome now.

Next were the light blue eyes of Ino. She was once at the level Sakura was, but when Sakura had gone under her for training she had surpassed Ino's levels.Her and Chouji weren't as skilled as all the others, but together with another ninja, they were deadly. Besides a so called " lazy ninja" worked better with her on the same mission. This lead to her searching for the eyes of this last ninja.

The last person she had not been greeted with eyes , they were covered by eyelids. Nara Shikamaru, by far the laziest ninja she had ever met. But he was a pure genius. Smarter than anyone she had ever known. " The genius of Konoha." Despite his laziness, he gets things done when needed to. He was skilled in battle and tactics. Even more so than Sakura. But his laziness is just overwhelming.

With stern eyes Tsunade stared him down. Shikamaru lazily opened one eye halfway, sensing that Tsunade was staring at him. With a sigh he opened both eyes, but did nothing to change the position he was in. He was kicked back, lounging all over the chair. No wonder he was so comfortable.

Seeing that she had gotten everyone's attention Tsunade cleared her throat, and laced her hands together, putting them in front of her.

"I suppose you all are wondering why I called you here on such urgent notice. I have some very important information to tell you all, which leads into the discussion on a new mission. I have chosen you all specifically, taking into mind your abilities and your relationships with Haruno Sakura.." She paused a moment for more affect, noticing the change in their postures, and gazes as she mentioned the pink-haired kunoichi's name.

"What about Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned, his voice was serious. He knew now that this was no game.

"Yes, this mission is the retrieving of Haruno Sakura. She has gone missing and we have reason to believe that she is being held by the same ninja who they were sent on the mission to eliminate-."

"Why did you send her!" Naruto interrupted. He stood up from his seat." Couldn't you get someone else to?" Neji gave Naruto a glare that told him to shutup but Naruto ignored him and opened his mouth to rant again.

"Sakura wasn't-." Naruto started at the same time Tsunade did but she cut him off.

"Sakura was more qualified than any other in this village. Her skills surpass even mine in the medical field, and her combat skills are like that of mine. Sakura accepted my request for her to be in this mission."

Naruto said nothing and just stared Tsunade down. " Naruto-kun.." Hinata stated. She touched his arm, which caused him to relax immediately. He sighed heavily and plopped back down into his seat.

Lee squeezed his fists, but said nothing. Tenten glanced at him, noticing the change in his posture. She gave him am apologetic look. Sakura and her had gotten closer as well.

"Sakura and five other ANBU were on a mission to kill an assassin. He was a holder of the Sharingan,"

Everyone in the room let out suprised, but muffled noises.

"Seeing as the Sharingan is only possessed within users of the Uchiha clan, and the only known survivors of that clan are Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi, we assumed that he is one of those two people. We have also been informed on the appearance of The Atkatsuki Nine.."

"Then the assassin must be Itachi, not Sasuke!" Naruto hollered out.

"That's what we had thought at first.." Tsunade replied.

"At first?" Tenen questioned.

"Yes. We all know that Uchiha Itachi is among the Atkatsuki Nine. We do not know if he is leader or not, but we know he is in high ranks. Most of them are known to stick together, which was another reason to believe that it was him. But.." Tsunade had a feeling she knew who it was though.She paused for a moment not wanting to say futher.

"But?"Neji enticed her. Tsunade sighed.

"The Atkatsuki are not allies with the Sound. Or have never been in cooperation with Orichimaru. They have no need to be. So there would be no explanation as to why one of them was in Sound territory without any quarrel… and as you all know Uchiha Sasuke was once or still may be in alliance with the Sound-."

"But Sasuke told me and Sakura that he was not with Sound anymore! He even killed the ones that were in front of us!" Naruto interrupted again.

"He was with Orichimaru Naruto. Whether you like it or not, the Sound are under Sasuke. Whether or not that is the case, both Uchiha's could be in the same area. If the Atkatsuki are there, Itachi is there, and if Sound are there, or even Itachi, Sasuke is there. That's all there is too it."

"So your saying that Sakura has been captured by either Itachi or Sasuke?" Lee asked.

"That would be preferable." Tsuande bluntly replied.

"What do you mean preferably! So your saying its okay for Sakura to be-." Naruto strated but Tsunade interrupted him.

"I would **prefer **that over Sakura being dead." That shut his mouth. " The remaining ANBU behind me," They all looked to three ANBU standing silently behind Tsuande. " were only able to find the ANBU mask that they had given to Sakura in order to hide her identity. They did not find her body anywhere near for a radius of 100 square feet."

"They had to abort the mission due to serious injuries, but one stayed behind to look for her further while these three came back to get reinforcements, you all, to go back and look for her."

"How troublesome…," Shikamaru muttered. " And we have no choice in the matter do we?" He asked Tsunade.

"It is by your choice whether any of you wish to join this mission. It'll be very dangerous, whichis why I want you all to come by choice." Tsunade replied. " All of you who will be coming on this mission please stand up. Don't feel bad if you do not I'll understand."

(Song: Naruto Strong and Strike Long Drums: )

The first ones to stand up were Naruto and Lee. They shot up the moment she asked.

Next was Hinata who shyly stood up.

Kiba stood up right after her.

After a few moments Neji stood up as well.

Then Tenten.

Then Shino.

Ino stood up as well, grabbing Chouji by the collar and bringing him up as well.

All of them eyed Shikamaru. After a moment he looked at them all with a lazy glare. Then Ino discreetly kicked him in the leg. He looked up at her gaze that commanded him to get up.

With a sigh Shikamaru stood up.

There they all stood, looking at Tsunade with serious but gently gazes. They were all going on the mission.

Pride welled up inside Tsunade seeing all of them accept the mission. Her eyes began to water just a little bit. All the ANBU behind her all had approving smiles on their faces.

"So these are shinobi that are going to change our future." Takashi stated, almost in awe. The ANBU all observed as the shinobi all shared smiles and been discussing with Tsunade the plan.

"Don't forget, were missing one." Hirigashi replied. He was referring to Sakura.

"Won't be for long." Himura replied.

They all kept on smiling, having a feeling that this mission was going to be successful.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

From her position on the ground, her voidless emerald eyes stared up to the sky above her. She had been laying on her back for quite some time now, and only when her ears picked up on a twig snapping, and the rustling of low-hanging tree branches did she lift herself up into a sitting posistion.

She tensed even more as the rustling persisted, her grip on her kunai becoming even tighter. She saw the form of a person making it's way out of the forest and into the clearing where she was. She lifted her hand about to throw her kunai until the voice stopped her.

"Sakura?"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! -**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this Chapter. Just know that there is going to be MAJOR action next chapter. I'm going to take my time making the battles intense and detailed for you guys. So be prepared! I'll update soon like i did with these ones.**

**There's also going to be the appearance of new characters too. Not OC characters, just ones that you haven't heard from yet. Hint Hint, they're mentioned in this chapter.**


	13. Chap 12: Mission: Haruno Sakura

**A/N:** Umm yea there's no excuse for me to toss at all you readers this time...except for i didn't have much access to the computer. BUT anywho, i'm still very sorry for the looong update AGAIN. But yea, thanks soooo much for the reviews!. Oh and i've already started the next chapter, so i can promise that this won't be a long update. K k.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned the Naruto series...my favorite couples would start getting together now! Ino/Shika, Neji/Ten, Naru/Hina, Sasu/Saku. Of course not without drama, but you know...so there it is.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 13: Mission: Haruno Sakura**

(o)

(o)

(o)

The wind was calm, the breeze rising and falling at varied times, silent as much as howling. The luscious grass that adorned the forest floor also swayed with the breeze;and the luminescent light from the moon reflected off the water drops that still clung to their surface, a result of the nights recent and heavy rainfall. By the dewiness and smell of rain that still lingered, it was likely that another heavy fall of precipitation would occur.

Amidst one of the forest's large clearings, were shadows, figures discreetly making their way through, often using the large and various trees for cover. The area all around this clearing was very damaged, still bearing evidence to the battle that had taken place days before their arrival. Trees lay on the ground, some uprooted, some seperated from their trunks in very unclean, splintered breaks. The bodies that had once adorned the ground had already been removed, the blood stains being the only evidence of them ever being there.

Replacing them were standing figures, a vast amount simply patrolling and guarding the area.

The figures were once again seen, stealthily moving behind seperated areas and trees, where they stayed moments longer.

"Naruto, position reached."

"Ino position reached."

"Shikamaru position reached."

"Tenten position reached."

"Chouji position reached."

"Shino position reached."

"Hinata position reached."

"Kiba and Akamaru positions reached"The sound of Akamaru's quick bark sounded the mic.

"Rock Lee position reached."

"Neji position reached. All targets are in sight. Ino are you ready?."

"Ready." The blonde-maned kunoichi moved out slightly in the open, allowing her coverage by the tree and clear sight of the enemy. Her baby blue orbs scanned between select view before pausing on one sole shinobi. She preformed a few handseals before putting her hands out in front of her in the form of a triangle, still allowing her sight of the enemy.

"Shintenshin no jutsu!" This was sounded barely above a whisper.

The warping noise was unheard by most, along with the thud as Ino's body collapsed to the ground.

It was then that one of the Sound shinobi froze, slightly hunching over.

"Hey what are you doing?" A fellow sound had walked over to the hunched over man, who's face was out of view. "Hey did you hear what I said?" He made a grab for the guy, only to let out gurgled gasp as a kunai was dug into his stomach. He was silently lowered down to the ground to prevent much noise. When the Sound shinobi had stood up fully, he lifted his head as well, revealing his face, and an expression only Ino could make. She had succesfully taken over his body.

Ino reached into the weapons pouch secured at the shinobi's leg, getting a feel for what was inside. And she seemed satisfied as she a smile travel to the Sound shinobi's lips. She then directed her newfound body towards the other ninja standing post. Her presence was immediately spotted.

"Hey your not supposed to be over here your post is over th-." The guy was cut of as "Ino" threw tossed a kunai into his neck, and he let out a gurgling hollar as he fell to the ground. It was then that many others noticed.

"Hey! What happened over here!"

"This." The deep voice of the ninja she controlled sounded his question.Immediately she tossed a kunai into the man's throat. By now they were all surrounding.

Ino quickly put her hands together in a handseal. " Kai!" The body of the man she had controlled dropped to the ground, and her own body jumped as she reentered it. Within a few seconds she was up.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Naruto had already taken action now, his all too familiar technique echoing throughout the clearing.Hordes of Naruto appeared, inhabiting the ground and trees all around. No moment passed before they initiated combat.

All of the Konoha shinobi darted from their positions, taking other locations at their leisure, and taking action in any way neccesary to quickly, and efficiently defeat the entire enemy.

With a battle cry, Naruto joined his clones, who had by now been reduced to a select few. This resulted in him being surrounded by a very large group of Sound shinobi. It didn't seem to faze him at all. He took a breif glance at all of them before he delivered his first punch.

Neji easily dodged the small flank of kunais that had been thrown towards him. He then swiftly bolted towards the source, and with one graceful sweep of his arm, he shoved his pin-pointed fingers multiple times into the enemies chest. The said Sound shinobi fell as Neji sweep turned, dodging another punch made for him before coming up to uppercut his attacker, sending him flying into a few others.

As more came at him, he dropped on all fours, tripping the first one. Before he had time to fall, Neji had already grabbed his leg; using him as a sort of club, the Hyuuga swung him in a circle letting his body collide with man others.

One of the victims of Neji's punches ended up flying towards her, and she expertly halted him, stabbing a kunai downwards to bring him to the ground.

Tenten immediately flipped away, bringing out a few shuriken before throwing them in a fan-like motion towards a group of Sound coming at her. As they departed from her fingers, the nearly invisible chakra strings brefily reflected the moonlight as the grew in length. As she manuevered her fingers similar to controlling a puppet, the kunai's revolved around one another, acting as a sort of razor fan. It easily tore through the enemy.

Rock Lee executed a series of sideways flips, letting his two legs collide strongly with the heads of two Sound ninja. Using the momentary stun to his advantage, he grabbed them both before smashing their heads together. As more came at him, he seemingly dissapeared, reapearing on the shoulders of one. The suprised man looked up at him, not having enough time to stop him as the taijutsu specialits lifted his feet, letting one move to the front, and the other to the back; he brought them together with great force, executing what was almost a kick. The momentum sent the shinobi flying towards the ground.

Lee went with him, landing on the incapacitated shinobi's back. He catapulted off of him, performing a back flip before delivering a kick the other one standing behind him. When another came at him unexpectedly, he was going to use his arms to block. Though he stopped when he saw the large shadow hand grasp his attacker.

He followed the path of the hand to look at Shikamaru who held his hands in a seal. When the hand had retreated, the Sound shinobi fell to the ground. Shikamaru had control of the whole forest opening due to the night skies. There was no limit to the lengths that his shadows could reach. And thus, that was the tactical plan of fighting he used.

Chouji increased in size, and the appendages to his body retreated into his clothes as a turtles would as he started spinning in his stationary location, seemingly gathering momentum. He looked similiar to a large pinball as he collided with various enemies, having perfect control to his direction.

Insects engulfed a large group of Sound shinobi, and they slowly, one by one, dropped to the ground before them.

Next to him stood Hinata, her fists poised with pin-point precision as she shoved her palm into the abdomen of one coming towards her. She ducked as the next punch came to her before turning sideways and striking her attacker multiple time in the chest. It was the last one near them as she fully stood up, letting her pearl eyes scan the area.

Kiba stood up fully as well, letting out a barely discernable sigh as he looked around as well.

There seemed to be none left.

All of the Leaf Shinobi gathered to one another in a small group, their eyes speculative, unsure.

"Neji, this seems too easy." Tenten said softly, still on alert as if it was still the beginning of the mission.

"I know, Tenten." The pearl-eyed shinobi muttered quietly as the veins around his eyes massed again. He had activated his Byakaguun.

Everyone nodded their heads, silently agreeing. Something wasn't right.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

"Sakura?" She had paused at the sound of her name, her facial expression becoming uncertain as her wary emerald eyes reamained fixated on the area to which the bushes continued to rustle. They transitioned to the face of the figure who made his way out of them..

"Tenshi!" She ran up to the ANBU member, a look of releif adorning her face. She noticed the various scratches adorning his body, possible from brushing against various tree branches. He also had an arm positioned over his abdomen, and her emerald eyes sparked with recognition.

"Are you okay? How did you get away?"

Her emerald orbs fell to the ground as a blank emotion breifly crossed them.

It was the other rustling that transitioned both their suprised gazes to the same bushes from which the ANBU member had come.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The rain was coming down in constant sheets now, and the thunder constantly cracking overhead.

Tenten expertly whirled a kunai about her finger out of nervous habit, her chocalte brown eyes focused on Neji.

His vision blurred past the near-sighted forest, traveling deep than the normal, seeing more detail than the normal eye. There was a group of Shinobi, and they were walking casually through the forest, seemingly uncaring to the rain. As if on que, Shikamaru voice his inquiry.

"Is it one of the Uchiha's?"

"No." Was Neji's firm reply. "There's a group, moving away from us" The veins around his eyes protruded even more as his view looked further.

His vision zoomed past trees, finding the group of shinobi once again.

"They have a type of patterned cloak."

Naruto's deep cerulean eyes slightly sparked.

**Flashback**

His suprised gaze looked up from his position next to the now open apartment door to the man hovering tall above him, his eyes Sharingan, his cloak patterned with the red outline of clouds. Next to him stood another adorned in the same.

**End Flashback**

He said nothing as he looked ahead, his gaze serious.

"Much farther ahead, in another clearing, there are more." He started his observation as he let his gaze zoom once again, reaching past the steadily walking group. There were three others figures there, and as he pushed his view harder, more and more details became evident to his sight.

He deactivated his Byakagun as he shot up from his crouched position.

"What's wrong Neji?" Tenten's worried voice announced all of their inquiry.

"That large chakra mass we're all sensing right now is the Akatsuki."

"What?" Several of them had voiced this simultaneously. Naruto's gaze only darkned further as he continued to look ahead. His silence had drawn Hinata's attention, and her worried pearl gaze reamined focused on him.

"But we need to move, now." Neji was clearly serious in his statement, and he had turned his view ahead, ready to go.

"Why would we want to go the same direction the Akatsuki are going?! They're filled with the most dangerous S-ranked criminals in the bingo book!" Ino wasn't the only one who didn't seem to content about it. Neji's calm voice answered her.

"There's a clearing, that we need to get to. In that clearing is a cottage, there is one of the ANBU that Tsunade informed us about. Uchiha Itachi is there as well."

"Who..is the third." Naruto's serious, yet calm, impassive voice sounded everyone's ears. They all looked to him, slightly suprised.

"What?" Shikamaru was the one to voice the inquiry this time.

"You said there were three." It was then that Naruto let his serious gaze transition to Neji."Who is the third?"

Neji and Naruto shared a very long glance as the whole group shared a very long moment of bated silence.

"Sakura."

* * *

**THanks for reading!**

**Yea i know there's a lack of good stuff happening in this chapter, but this one just seemed to drag out, so i thought it might be a good idea to end it?. Yea again the next update will actually be soon, so yea. I'll actually be fufuilling your requests to " update soon". -**

**Ja ne!**


	14. Chap 13: The Akatsuki

**A/N:** Hey thanks for the reviews! And for the help! It was much need and well used. And based on my research ( haha I sound like a nerd XD) I have come to to the conclusion that……there is no way I can get everything on the Akatsuki right. So…yea. But again thank you all for the reviews and support. I am happy to be continuing this story for you all.

**Warnings:** It's hard to find exactly which information is right about the Akatsuki, but I tried. So i think that at this point, only the leader of the Akatsuki is unknown, so I will make him up for my story i think. So sorry if I get things wrong or if you readers don't like the way I set this up!

**Disclaimer:** Chea, its kinda been a while so i almost forgot that i didn't own the Naruto characters. Fun stuff...I don't own any of the Naruto characters, that one person who I forgot the name of does. The only thing I own proudly is this story…. And the little box that I live in...so there it is.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 13: The Akatsuki**

(o)

(o)

(o)

The figure who had slowly walked into the clearing came to a halt. The little chiming bell attatched to the very large hat resting on the figure's head let out one last chime as all movement ceased.

Without a word the figure reached an hand up, placing it on the tip of his hat. A finger belonging to that same had bore a ring, the kanji amidst it bearking the kanji "Shu"(Scarlet/Red/Bloody)

Sakura's emerald gaze started to waver as the hat slowly retreated from his face. They only proved to widen as his head slightly lifted to reveal deep Sharingan eyes.

"Uchiha.." Tenshi's serious voice rumbled from his throat as he slightly lowered his stance.

"Itachi.." Her soft voice was only full of surprise, worry.

**Akatsuki Memeber Two: Uchiha Itachi**

The large black cloak, adorned with red-outlined clouds, covering his body brought no sight to what must have been a nicely sculpted body. But his face was prominent, no longer hidden by the shadows of the hat he once wore. The similarities in physical appearance between he and Sasuke was uncanny.

"Sakura-san, it has been quite some time."

She did not reply to him, her gaze wavering as she slightly lowered her stance as well.

"I have no intention of harming you." His statement seemed directed towards her as he caught her gaze, unblinking. No emotion laced his calm voice, though there was sincerity in it. Sincerity she couldn't ignore, that she beleived. But it did not remove the tension form her body, the suspicion. The feeling of hate. This was the man that had caused the pain and suffering for Sasuke. He..was the one who had started it all.

Her suprised emerald eyes transitioned to Tenshi as he bolted from his position, immediately upon Itachi. It was only then that Itachi's Sharingan eyes glanced away from Sakura, and to the his attacker. With seemingly no effort at all, the Akatsuki member backhanded the ANBU member. He was sent flying into a nearby tree, its stump hard and thick enough to stop his travel.

"Tenshi!"

The ANBU member coughed up blood as he rolled over onto his stomach, his feiry eyes focused on Itachi. He braced himself on his elbows and knees, but a wave of pain kept him down. He could only watch as Itachi swiftly took out a kunai, having already sent it in his direction.

The sound of metal clanking against metal echoed throughout the clearing.

No expression crossed Itachi's unemotional facade, his Sharingan eyes were focused slightly higher than Tenshi who was amidst the ground. Sakura stood in front of him, her kunai still held level with her face, where the kunai had been parryed. She was breathing heavily for some reason, perspiration lining her forehead.

The Akatsuki member's eyes lingered on her for a moment before transitioning slightly downwards, noticing the blood that was seeping through her clothing.

Her determined gaze was focused on him as she continued to hold her stance. But her exhaustion was clearly evident as she dropped down to her knees. But her stubborness and will was strong as she still held the kunai out, emerald eyes clocking him warily.Only when the figures appeared behind Itachi did she divert her eyes, slightly widening them .

Their clone-like cloaks nearly made them all blend together as they stood behind Itachi, who in turn, transitioned his gaze to them.

"Itachi." The deep voice rumbled. "Why are they still alive?"

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Figures were dashing across the forest ground, at a pace where they could barely be traced. They were just like lines that were gone as soon as they appeared.

Hir stern cerulean gaze was focused ahead of him as the blur of the trees continued along at his sides. He was ahead of the group, even slightly ahead of Lee, the one known for his unmatched speed.

He came to an abrupt halt as he made his way into the clearing, his eyes immediately catching sight of its inhabitants. The first he spotted was Sakura. He breifly looked into her suprised gaze before letting them travel to the group on the other side.

"Sakura!" Naruto didn't take his eyes off the Akatsuki members as Ino ran past him, her destination the pink-haired kunochi. Only when he perceived Itachi dissapearing did he move, darting out towards Ino with immense speed. The other Leaf shinobi who had just arrived moved to help, but were halted in their tracks as the rest of the cloaked figures appeared in front of them.

The loud ring of the metal of two kunai's clashing together sounded the clearing; Ino had fallen down to the ground in shock, and from the force of the impact. Her wide baby blue eyes were looking up to Naruto as he stood in front of her, kunai clashed with Itachi's.

"Ino, go." Naruto's calm voice invaded her ears, and with the fright still flickering in her eyes, she scrambled towards Sakura, and the two grasped eachother in worry.

Itachi and Naruto were in a slight struggle to overpower one another, or it seemed Naruto was the one trying to keep it stationary in nuetral position.

"Is this all power the jinchurikii of the Kyuubi can manage?" Itachi voiced his inquiry impassively as he slowly reached into his cloak, seemingly for the purpose of Naruto seeing his movement. He pulled out another kunai, and without a moment's wait moved in arm downwards in a sweeping motion. And when it seemed the kunai were to peirce Naruto's skin, yet another sound of metal against metal sounded the clearing.

Itachi's gaze calmly transitioned to Sakura, where they lingered for a moment. She was at the full extension that being on her knees allowed her, and her arm still outstretched from the motion of throwing the kunai. She was still breathing heavily, as if that alone was hard for her to do.

Slight releif flickered in the depths of her eyes as she realized she was in time, but her face was scrunched up in pain, and she lowed a hand to the ground for support as another great wave of pain rolled over her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's worried hollar reached her ears as she brought up her gaze to glance at her friend. She followed his wide-eyes gaze to a spot near her, and both her and Ino caught sight of what looked to be large for its size spider next to them. It wasn't natural, almost looked clay-like.

She reached for the unconcious ANBU member behind her, trying to draw strenght to move, but stopped when a figure appeared in front of her, green-spandex tightly adorning his body.

Rock Lee.

He bolted from in front of her towards the bomb, kicking it like someone would a soccer ball. A few seconds from impact the creature exploded, erupting in a cloud of smoke. The small explosion engulfed the whole clearing momentarily, sending everything into confusion. It seemed to have marked the begginning of battle.

**Akatsuki :Nine members remaining**

Naruto looked around frantically, searching for Itachi, who had long since dissapeared. Neji appeared next to him. He had lost Tenten and was looking for her. The smoke that was still lingering in the air made it hard to do so.

Out of nowhere a huge sword swung at them. The weilder of it could not be seen, due to the smoke and long reach of the bandaged sword. It came down, creating a slight tremor as it cracked the ground where Naruto and Neji once were. The two stayed in a crouched posistion, waiting for the next strike. There was none, instead the sillouhette of a figure walked towards them throught the smokey air.

He didn't look all that much human. His face almost resembled that of a shark, that lightish blue color, with those scales at the side of his neck. He was rather tall, and buff..just plain huge. Neji recognized him immediately, from an encouter he had had before.

**Akatsuki Member Three: Kisame.**

Lee turned away from Sakura, and observed a member from the ruthless group step forward. It was the one whom had thrown that bomb. Lee flashed back to when he had touched the contraption. It was all made out of pure chakra. That was probably why it needed to blow tag to create an explosion. The member made its way towards them. With one grabbing motion of the hand, the Akatsuki member threw off his hat.

His mouth was curved up in a snicker as his amused teal eyes focused on him.

**Akatsuki Member Five: Deidara.**

"I think that you'll agree with me when I say that fine art really is the beauty of that single, fleeting moment of explosion, Yeah?"

It was then that Lee let his eyes travel the Akatsuki member's hands, the were held stationary, but they seemed to be moving, from inside? Almost pulsating in a way. He watched as Deidara placed his hands inside a somewhat large bag secured around him.

When he removed his hand, splaying it out before him, what looked to be a small bird rested atop, slightly fluttering its wings.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Ino and Sakura were slowly moving towards the trees, right behind underbrush. Ino, had Sakura's arm around her shoulders, and she gently had her hands on Sakura's side, trying not to cause too much pain.

"So you said you can heal yourself right?" Ino asked. She didn't like how deep the wound was.

"Not right now." Sakura sounded worried. "We have to hurry and help them Ino."

" I know I know! Big-forehead. Just do yourself a favor and get that wound fixed up first!"

Sakura's eyes wandered off, back to the battles that were taking place not too far from them. She looked to see Lee, there was a molded bird coming at him. But Sakura looked not too far behind him, and could see something crawling towards him.

"Lee-san!"

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

" Lee-san!" Rock Lee glanced over to Sakura who was screaming his name out in warning. She told the taijitsu specialist to look behind him. He quickly turned around just in time to see what looked like a clay molded spider that had already pounced, ready to attach itself to him. But due to Lee's amazing speed, he moved his body to the side, and used his hand to sort of slap the spider into the direction of the bird, which wasn't even two feet away from him.

The explosion nicked him a bit, causing a few minor burns on his hand. He had no time to rest as he looked to see that same bird molding flying towards him.

"Deidara, stop." A voice commanded.

As if one que, the small clay-molded bird had turned its direction.

In a few areas of the clearing, there was still a great amount of smoke lingering, preventing sight further than five feet away. Shikamaru had a tight grasp on Chouji's collar, making sure that they both stayed close. Chouji looked disgruntled, and Shikamaru looked plain frustrated. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Ino's worried gaze lingered on Shikamaru and Chouji who standing close together, eyeing the two Akatsuki members who stood before them.

"Go, Ino." Her suprised gaze looked to Sakura at her soft command, a grim smile adorning her face. Though Ino looked torn, her gaze traveling back to them once more before back to Sakura. "I'll be fine." Sakura reinforced her smile, making it more reassuring.

"Your gonna heal yourself right? If you need chakra I can-."

"I'm fine, Ino." Sakura enunciated the word more forcefully. She gave her a little push on the back, that persuaded Ino to push herself up. Ino looked back at her, ready to say something, but Sakura wouldn't have it.

"GO." She shooed her away. Ino had a relieved look on her face as she sprinted over to Shikamaru. She stopped and looked at Sakura once more, only to be met with a smile. Ino smiled back and went on her way.

Sakura's smile slowy lowered into a sort of grimace, showing the insurmountable pain she was in.. She slowly lowered herself down to the ground, wincing in pain. The whole aread of her shirt near her abdomen was completley soaked in blood now.

She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. Her body was still as death, you could barely see the rise and fall of her chest. After a few moments, the wound on Sakura's abdomen began to glow a bright pink. Sakura didn't move an inch, she was concentrating. After a few seconds she took a deep breath, gasping for air. She lifted up her shirt, noticing that the wound looked much better than before, but only closed, able to reopen at ant time. A frown was evident on her face, dissapointment at not being able to heal it as she would have liked.The only problem was the chakra supply.

Taking a deep breath, and bracing herself, Sakura pushed herself off the ground with an exhausted grunt. She staggered and leaned onto a nearby tree and looked out into the clearing, everyone was just standing around now, watching Itachi.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Itachi was looking into the eyes of the leader, and it seemed as if the two were talking telepathically. With a slight nod on both sides, the rest of the Akatsuki Members starting jumping out of sight, one by one.

Deidara grumbled in protest, looking at Lee one more time before jumping out of site.

The only remaining were Uchiha Itachi and Hoshikage Kisame.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Yea, if there was anything you didn't like, nows the time to say something, aka review! And yes i know, i kinds dissmissed most of the Akatsuki right now, but you'll see them in action later. SO yea, really sorry! But this is geting hard! **

**Again, i'd be glad to rewrite or edit this chapter if you guys want.**

**P.S:...I'm so lazy!**


	15. Chap 14: The Last Biju

**A/N**: Yea I decided to not be lazy and just go ahead and get started with the next chapter, hence this one you are about to read now! I'm so proud of myself haha. But yea thanks for reviewing, they make my heart smile and my lips jump with glee!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 14: The Last Biju**

(o)

(o)

(o)

"This is a two in one, huh Itachi?" Kisame reveled. There seemed to to be a hidden meaning to his words. They obviously came for more than the Kyuubi. Itachi's eyes were closed as he seemed to contemplate something. "Shall I deal with him?"

It was then that Itachi opened his eyes.

"It seems we cannot leave here without a fight." He started, breifly letting his view glance to Sakura before continuing. "Don't over-do it..You're moves stand out to much." His words were that of cautionary to his partner.

"Then it's settled." Kisame picked up his huge sword, letting it rest on his shoulder.

"You guys" His fiery cerulean eyes did not glance back to his comrades, his friends. They remained focused ahead to the two Akatsuki members. "This is my fight." With that he ran towards the older Uchiha, not uttering a Sound.

Hinata stepped forward, her wavering pearl eyes longing to join Naruto, as the rest of the group did. Neji threw his arm out in front of her, his Byakaguun focused on the battle.

"Not yet." He started, waiting a few moments before continuing, his voice calm. "Naruto..is much stronger than we all may think."

Before he even got to Itachi, Kisame appeared in front of the blonde-mamed shinobi, already in the motion of swinging his large sword down upon him. With great speed Naruto executed a side flip, leaving the large sword to break the ground were he once was. Particles of dust and rock fell from the large weapon as Kisame effortlessly picked it up with a single hand.

"Kage Bunshin No Justu!" Five Naruto clones appeared, already advancing on the Akatsuki member from all directions, though they were easily and instantly disposed of with one large swing from Kisame's weapon.Naruto left him no time to finish his swing as he was already upon him, a kunai at hand. Kisame's immense speed allowed him to match Naruto, already swinging his sword once again, leaving Naruto to block it with his kunai; the force of the blow knocking Naruto back, and having him preform a small flip before landing on all fours.

With the breif moment he had, Naruto let his cerulean gaze travel to Itachi, who was calmly watching from his side-turned position. He was the one that he had wanted to fight. He let his eyes transition back to Kisame as he swung his sword in a downwards motion to him. The best option he had was to bring his small kunai up again, matching the strike of the large blade. This left the two in a power struggle, Naruto's skill allowing him to fend off the sword with such a small weapon.

"Samehada!" At his call, the blade started rumbling, the bandages that were wrapped around it quickly falling away. It revealed that it wasn't a blade; of purple color, its entire mass was formed by razor sharp appendages sticking out in all directions, curving around the blade. They were all moving, as if they were hungering to tough Naruto's skin. And with their lengths, they did. "My blade does not slice, it shaves!" Naruto jumped back, letting out a small grunt of frustration as the blade tore through the clothing on his arm, breaking his skin.

He was left no small moment of rest before Kisame was on him once again. The force of them meeting weapons once again caused Naruto's arm to bleed even more so, but it did not hinder his strenght as he kept Samehada stationary. His cerulean eyes burned as he looked into Kisame's amused ones. Though his eyes averted as the glare of a kunai reflected in his eyes.

The Akatsuki member was forced to move out of the way, letting the kunai whizz past them, and into the bark of a tree.

Both gazes followed the kunai's path to look at its thrower. Hinata's pearl eyes held Naruto's for a small moment before Kisame made yet another swing for him. The sword hit the ground, breaking the earth up underneath it as Naruto seemingly dissapeared, reapearing not to far away. He was grasping his arm, his frustrated gaze looking to Kisame, and then to Itachi. Though his gaze widened as figures stepped to his either of his sides. He looked to see his comrades: Neji, Hinata, Tenten, Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Chouji, Lee; they all stood next to his sides, their gazes focused on the enemy.

"We're in this together, right?" Lee started.

"By your side." Hinata's soft voice added.

"Can't let you take all the action!" Kiba's statement was followed by a chirpy bark from Akamaru.

"We're a team." Neji countered, his eyes were trained ahead.

"At first, we were going to let you take care of this. But it makes more sense for all of us to be fighting." Shikamaru stepped up even more so. "In other words, I have a plan."

"You guys…" Naruto's voice was almost awed, touched. He looked at all of them before letting a resolved look return to his face.

All of their gazes were trained on Itachi and Kisame, as their was to them. A rising tension continued to linger into the air. It was now, that the real battle would start. Naruto slightly parted his lips to speak.

"Let's finish this."

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura let out a small, pained grunt as she pushed herself away from the tree, which had earlier been her support. Her eyes were determined as she had long ago fixated her gaze on Itachi, she had never taken her eyes off of them, a type of fire burned in their depths.

**_My goal is to kill a certain man_**

She closed her eyes, seeming to calm, center herself, if not just to regain her breath.

She preformed a long series of handseals before bringing the last one up to her forehead. She slowly, from the bottom up, started to dissapear into the breeze.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

His Sharingan eyes had caught her movement, and as she had dissapeared, he slightly opened his eyes wider, reinforcing his Sharingan.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Kisame lowered himself, one hand holding the huge sword over his shoulder. His body was in a position that gave leverage to the sword, it also cast his shadow further along the ground, to the point where it reached the ground before the shinobi of the Leaf.

Naruto nodded to Shikamaru, letting his comrade and friend do a series of handseals.

"Kagemane No Jutsu."With sight, it seemed nothing happened, but when Kisame had tried to move, he found he could not. But no worry or suprise etched his face.

"You think to keep me in one place do you?" Kisame let out a small laugh before let out a struggle to hunch over, grunting loudly and prosperously as he shot up, breaking the bind to which he was held.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered. He wasn't the only to seem dissapointed.

"Shikamaru, try it again." Naruto was abrubt with his prompt, his cerulean eyes trained on Kisame. Everyone's gazes looked to him, almost taken back.

"Did you not just see what he did?" Kiba asked in slight disbeleif.

Shikamaru's gaze focused on Naruto, almost as if he was getting an idea to what he was trying to do. Neji did too.

"Tenten, can you be ready to load him with some kunai?"

"Always."

"Kagemane No Jutsu!" Shikamaru yelled. They were all interupted by Shikamaru, who was already doing what Naruto asked. Ironically, he trusted Naruto's judgement. And his "title" as genius had no small parth it in.

"Again? Do you learn?" Kisame teased. He was about to hunch over yet again, but something interrupted him. The ground broke underneath him, and dust rose around him, causing the Akatsuki member to let out a grunt of surprise. It took a few seconds for the dust to clear, and when it did, it reveal a few Naruto clones grasping Kisame, holding him even more so in place.

Shikamaru clenched his handseal tighter, face serious as he struggled to hold Kisame under his large Shadow Hand. Realization seemed to dawn on all their faces as the situation played, and Tenten wasted no time in grasping all the weapons in her pouch, spinning to hive her more momentum before she released them in Kisame's direction.

It was the first time that slight suprise appeared on Kisame's face.

"Samehada!" His sword greatly vibrated at its call, flying away from the Akatsuki member and sweeping in a large circle as it deflected all the kunai. As the blade did so, Kisame let out another battle cry as he broke the shadow bind yet again, throwing the Naruto clones off of him, resulting in their puffs of smoke as they dissapeared.

"This guy.." Chouji let out a frustrated snarl.

Even as Kisame just broke out of the grasp of the Shadow hand once again, Naruto was already upon him, fist poised for a punch. Through with his own speed the Akatuski member was already swinging his sword, something Naruto didn't expect; he collided with the large blade unguarded, the force of the blow sending him many yards away. He grinded against the earth until the friction slowed him to a halt. A pool of blood already began to form underneath him.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinta bolted from her position, running towards the fallen shinobi. As she kneeled next to him, she could see that there were no clothes on his upper body any longer, completley disposed of by the blade. Grunting in pain, Naruto lifted up his head, letting his chin rest on the ground before him as his burning cerulean eyes looked up to Kisame.

"Chikuso.." His voice was low, frustrated, strained.

In retaliation Neji and Lee moved forward past Hinata and Naruto to attack the Akatsuki member.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Vines and Branches sprouted up from underneath Itachi, slowly winding themselves around him. However the Uchiha was perfectly calm, seemingly unbothered by the impending doom. Even as the large tree trunk appeared behind him, secuirng him even tighter with the vines he did nothing; only slightly tilt his head up as he transitioned his Sharingan eyes to the area above him as a body started to protrude from the middle of the tree.

Sakura's pink hair slightly hung from her face as she looked down to Itachi, a kunai poised.For some reason she hesitated. And for some reason her eyes wavered as she looked at him.He silently looked at her, no concern or emotion evident in his gaze. Only then did her eyes widen as she found herself face to face with Itachi.He was the one free, and she binded to the tree.

"An illusionary technique of this level has no effect on me." Itachi informed the surprised kunoichi.

Though he suddenly paused, his Sharingan eyes snapping to the battle at their side. Sakura's curious and wary gaze followed his, and they only widened as she saw what he saw. The vines binding her to the tree slowly unraveled, leaving her to fall to the ground. She looked up to Itachi breifly in suprise that he had released her before focusing her gaze back to the area to which she had been staring.

...ooo000ooo000ooo..

(Song: Naruto-Strong and Strike)

Hinata fell back onto her bottom in suprise, her hands planted behind her for support as her wide, wavering emerald eyes looked in front of her to Naruto. Both her locks of hair and clothing were greatly ruffling, seemingly by a strong wind, by the strong energy radiating off of him.

His clawed fingers were digging into the dirt, clenching and unclenching as a blazing orange chakra engulfed him.Slowly the wounds enclouding his body started to heal at a rapid paste, the last to go the large wound that had been decorating his abdomen, they almost seemed to sizzle as they were removed. The whisker like markings on the sides of his face protruded even more so as he opened his mouth up in a snarl, the razor-like fangs located on each side of his teeth sharpening to a point.

The earth underneath him started breaking up, bits and peices of rock starting to lift up in the air as if gravity never held them down. The debis had started swirling around with his chakra as it grew more and more to a life of its own.

When he lifted his head, his fiery fox-like eyes held Kisame.

"Kisame." Itachi's calm yet serious call to his partner only made the other Akatsuki member nod his head in a sort of acknowlegdment.

Kisame had already dissapeared, reapearing right in front of Naruto, his sword swinging horizontally, almost as if it wasn't intended to hit Naruto. Not directly.

**Flashback**

Kisame swung his sword, its blade cutting through the blazing orange chakra that surrounded him. upon contact, it dissapeared, along with his power, almost as if the blade had eaten the powerful chakra

**End Flashback**

The blade shaved through thin air as Naruto was nowhere to be found. Only when Kisame slowly straightned up, letting his gaze travel to his side was Naruto seen, setting Hinta gently down on her two feet. His fiery eyes never left Kisame.

"Not this time." His low, deep rumbling voice seemed to echo throughout the clearing, his fox-like eyes burning even more.

"Damnit..Itachi!"Kisame's eyes immediately looked to his partner, almost for help it seemed.

Itachi's eyes grew slighter wider as he reinforced his Sharigan. The hat that he had been holding the entire time was cast away to the side, the little bell attatched to it letting out a small, harmonous chime as it met the ground.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Hopefully that was ok, and yea this chapter was basically just battles, and the next one might be too. I hope that's okay! So basically since these are just going to be battles, i will make them as detailed as possible, well without overdoing it, but i guess the'll be longer and intense? yea.Again, comment on any aspect of the story you want to. -**


	16. Chap 15: Another UchihaUzumaki Battle

**A/N**: I remembered what that upbeat Naruto song is called! Haha yea sorry anywho, yea that name of the song is " Strong and Strike". Yep. ;p

**Warnings**: Sorry if this is a spoiler, but a ways down in this chapter when Itachi speaks to Naruto about Three years "marking the end of the time we have to obtain you", he's talking about how Orochimaru can now take Sasuke's body because it's been three years. Remember in the Anime/Manga how Orochimaru had to wait three years to get Sasuke's body because he already transfered? That created time for Akatsuki to obtain all the Biju's so they would have enough power to stop Orochimaru completely, especially if he get's Sasuke's body. So for my fic, during the three years that passed, The Akatsuki obtained all the Biju's except for Naruto.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Naruto series.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 15: Another Uchiha/Uzumaki Battle. **

(o)

(o)

(o)

The other Shinobi stood their ground, bodies tense as they resisted the wind coming towards them. They had never seen Naruto like this before.

" This chakra." Neji muttered. He still clearly remembered in the chuunin exams, when this same chakra revealed itself. But not to this great amount.

" Shit." Was all Kisame muttered.

(Song: Naruto OST: Strong and Strike)

Sakura had to dig her nails into the ground to prevent herself from sliding back, due to the enormous wind being produced by Naruto's chakra. She looked up at Itachi, who was now in front of her. His huge cloak, and charcoal locks of hair were blowing along with the wind. His body was very stiff, but at the same time he was relaxed, as if this was another battle which he would not need to take very seriously. How strong was this guy?

Itachi threw his hat to the side, the wind picked it up carrying it further along with the many leaves. His Sharingan eyes were trained on Naruto, who was looking straight back at him. The wind had died down now, and the leaves began to fall towards the ground. The hat began its descent towards the ground as well. The wind seemed to stop completely and all went deadly silent as the bell that was attached tothe hatproduced a little chime as it hit the ground.

Naruto charged towards Itachi, seemingly disappearing due to the speed he was traveling at. With that, Itachi seemingly disappeared as well, meeting Naruto fist to fist with a powerful punch. The force crumbled the ground underneath them. They disappeared again, and moved around, creating noticeable ruptures in the sky as they collided again and again.

Kisame decided to move in and assist Itachi, so they could get the job done quickly. He seemingly disappeared, making his way towards the fighting duo. But soon hecame to a sudden halt.

Kisame found himself not able to move any further, it was like he was stopped by some force. He struggled, managing to move his head down to look at his feet. He noticed some kind of shadow underneath him, and he slowly managed to turn his head to the side, his eyes following the shadow that sprouted from behind him. His eyes set on the same guy who had got him before. Nara Shikamaru. He stood, along with the other Konoha shinobi, their eyes focused on him.

Kisame tried to move again.But something about this one was different. It was much stronger, and Kisame found it difficult to move at all whatsoever. His eyes widened as he noticed the shadow of a hand slowly began to creep up towards his neck. He immediately started fighting Shikamaru's shadow technique. The shadow hand struggled, slowly reclining back down.

Shikamaru's hands were shaking as he held the seal, his whole forehead creating beads of sweat.

The Shadow hand slowly began to make it's way back up again. This time is was both traveling up, and traveling back down, as both sides fought to overpower the other.

"Enough of this..Samehada!" Kisame called. He felt the sword vibrate but it did not remove itself from it's position on his shoulder. Surprised, he looked up at it to see the powerful blade covered in tiny bugs. " What is this!" He looked at himself to see the same tiny bugs all over parts of his body as well.

" You said your blade eats chakra…" Shino's deep voice could be heard. " Meaning it must have chakra of it's own for it to be able to move of it's own free accord. But if that chakra were eaten away, would it still be able to move on it's own?" Shino finished, stating the question more than asking it.

Kisame stared in disbelief for a second. But that slowly changed to a challenging glare. " You've already underestimated my power, but don't underestimate my powerful blade, Samehada!" That said, the blade began to vibrate uncontrollably. The bugs seemed to be dying, as they fell off one by one. The blade was managing to eat chakra from the bugs as well.

Shino just stood, still with his hands in his pockets. The bugs that were on Kisame began to travel up to the sword, but soon more replaced Kisame as well. The bugs were starting to eat Kisame's chakra , but there was so much of it, it was barely making an impact.More bugs appeared, making a thick second skin on the Akatsuki member. They were eating more and more chakra.

Kisame noticed this, and decided it was really time to get serious. With a strong battle cry, all the muscles in Kisame body visibly got bigger. He brought his arms up, and proceeded to bring them away from his body slowly. He was trying to overpower Shikamaru's shadow hand.

Shikamaru winced in exhausted pain. He was sweating heavily now.

The shadow hand slowly shrunk down, to below Kisame's feet. Kisame noticed that the bugs were eating a lot of his chakra so he needed to get out of this bind fast. With another powerful, triumphant yell, Kisame used all the muscles in his body, and pushed outward, breaking the hold on him. The shadow disappeared back to Shikamaru, who was now on one knee. Kisame grabbbed his blade, and swung it down to the ground. The bugs that were on it all dissapeared.

Wind and dust blew in their faces as Naruto and Itachi collided very close to them. It distracted all their attention to the duo, as they watched them collide over and over again.

" Itachi needs to stop playing around." Kisame muttered, annoyed. Itachi never needed to use his full powers in battle, but if they wanted the job done quick he could at least get a bit more serious. Kisame brought his attention back to the shadow binding him, thinking it would be simple yet again to break out.

Kisame looked ahead to see Rock Lee in front of him.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Naruto and Itachi collided once again. Naruto aimed another punch, butItachi caught it, tightening his grip. Itachi slowly began to bend Naruto's fist back, causing him tolet out a painful cry. Naruto used his free fist and aimed another punch, managing toland a hit.He flew back a few feet, executing a flip before landing on his feet.TheAkatsuki memberslowly brought a hand up to his face, and used his fingers to wipe the little trickle of blood that began to slide down the corner of his mouth. Itachi looked at the blood for a moment, then right back at Naruto. He threw his hand to the side towards the ground so fast, that the blood slipped off and shot to the ground.

Itachi seemingly dissapeared. He was moving at lightning fast speed. He appeared in front of Naruto, his sharingan eyes more prominent than ever. He lowered down and swiftly punched Naruto in the gut, causing him to hunch over in pain. Itachi didn't stop there as punched him in the gut a few time more, finally kicking him up into the air. Itachi reapeared above Naruto and spun a full 360 degrees, back-handing him towards the ground, where he collided full force, creating a small crater underneath him.

Itachi landed gracefully, and began walking towards Naruto, kunai in hand. Naruto was struggling to get up, heavily impacted from the blow. The orange/red chakra that was once around Naruto was gone. ' What the?' Naruto didn't understand. Itachi's eyes seemed to be glowing with that pericing red, his Sharingan more prominent than ever. He was holding one hand in a sort of seal. Naruto felt the power of the Kyuubi slip away.

" Three years," Itachi spoke. " starting today. The day of our first encounter is it not?" Naruto flashed back to when he opened his door to be greeted with two ominous figures.

Naruto looked at Itachi approaching him. He pushed himself up off the ground, he had scratches and bruises all over his face now.He did a few handseals, trying to bring back the Kyuubi's chakra, but he felt nothing at all. Just like the time Orochimaru put that seal on him. He didn't feel the Kyuubi's chakra at all. Itachi noticed what he was trying to do, he only closed his eyes and shook his head. He seemed to know something that Naruto did not.

"This day holds another importance as well. It marks the end of the time we have to obtain you." With that said Itachi sprinted forward again. Naruto did a backflip, avoiding his first punch.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Having prepared by unwrapping the bandages on his arms, Lee kicked Kisame into the air, turning him upside down. Lee jumped up after him. Once he was directy behind the Akatsuki member, Lee wrapped his arm bandages around him, and grabbed Kisame in a bear hug. His body was aligned with Kisame and shifted down/up below Kisame shoulder's to avoid impact.

" Omote Renge!" He eniciated a spin with the both of them in the middle, creating a screwdriver effect, and then proceeded to piledrive Kisame headfirst into the ground. Lee jumped off, landing on the ground in a crouched posistion. His face was wincing in pain, due to the overuse of his muscles. His head snapped up as he heard rumbling.

The ground, where Kisame's head was buried into, cracked, breaking up, creating a slight explosion. Dust and smoke from the rocks rose into the air, providing no clear view on Kisame or Lee.

Rock Lee looked all around him, trying to see through the smoke. He sensed something coming down at him, and swiftly rolled to side, just in time to see Kisame's huge blade meet the ground, breaking the rock underneath it. The blade was picked up, and swung again, this time, horizontally. Lee could only drop onto his stomach to avoid it this time. A few strands of his hair floated in the air. Lee forced himself to jump away, and he landed on his hands and knees. He saw the sword coming down on his again. He felt two people near him.

Next thing Lee knew, he felt himself being lifted up by someone. His arm was slung around the person's shoulders. And they both jumped away out of the clearing smoke. The other person stayed with Kisame. Lee looked up to see Tenten who was supporting him. They both made it over to where to where the others were Tenten set him down.

She and everyone else were looking ahead at where Kisame was. Lee looked too, seeing Neji there as well.

Neji sprinted closer to the Akatsuki member, his Byakagun activated.A sort of seal, enclosed in a huge round circle, appeared underneath the two. It was blue and glowed brightly.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Neji's hands were angled in the familiar deadly point, his fingers poised and ready to strike. He stabbed his hands forwards into Kisame, in a series of two heavy strikes, followed by two more, followed by four, followed by eight, followed by sixteen, followed by a dazzling thirty-two consecutive pinpoint-precision strikes.

"Hakke Hyaku Nijuhachi Sho!" Neji continued stabbing his hands forward. Executing sixty-four consecutive pin-point precision strikes, followed by a whopping one hundred-twenty-eight strikes. Each one was meant to close certain chara points in his body, proving to be lethal, if not fatal.

Kisame spit out blood, and dropped down on one knee.He seemed to be breathing heavily. " You ..little brat." Neji was still in battle posistion, breathing heavily as well. A smirk slowly appeared on his face. Kisame managed to swing his blade, but it was rather slow, letting Neji dodge easily. Kisame was nearly out of chakra.

" Kuso..Samehada!" Kisame did a few seals, seemingly using his chakra this time. The monstrous blade started glowing a bright red, and it was shaking uncontrollably. The sword seperated itself from it's weilder, shaking even more. The curved spikes on the sword grew larger and longer, making the capacity of it's blows very lethal if not fatal. The great blade was in berzerker mode.

With great speed, it swung at Neji, who was barely able to dodge. The next swing, Nej had to meet with his own kunai. He was already being overpowered.

TenTen ran towards them, jumping into the air.

" Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Tenten took out a scroll, running a thumb, which she had already bit, along the inscriptions. It left behind a line of blood, which instantly glowed. Many weapons appeared. Ranging from Kunai and shuriken, to other daily tools. She guided them towards Kisame, who was unguarded.

Sameha immediately dissapeared and reapeared in front of Kisame, swinging all over the place as if deflected the weapons. The weapons came back at the group. Hinata, who had many practice with a technique she was about to use, stepped forwards in front of the group.

With a deep breath, she lowered into a crouched posistion. With pointed hands she began moving them in a pattern in front of her, reaching as far out as she could. Chakra appeared along the path her hands were going, but seemingly dissapeared as soon as they appeared. She went faster and faster, the lines becoming more prominent and chakra filled. Just as the weapons were in front of her, they hit a sort of invisible wall and were deflected to the ground.

Tenten clicked her tongue in annoyance. " Well if you gonna dodge all those.." She ran closer to Kisame and his blade, stopping herself when she was at an angle towards him. She jumped into the air again, spinning so she was upside down, still at an angle to the Akatsuki. She brought out a scroll, and very gracefully, and flashily moved back to a normal upright posistion, twirling the scroll with her. She kept spinning, and the sroll twirled all around her. She ran her hand along the scroll, and more weapons, appeared, in a much greater number. They were all deflected again.

When Tenten landed to the ground, she took out two nicely decorated scrolls. She placed one on each side of her. She crouched down, and preformed a series of handseals. With one final seal, she crossed her arm across eachother.

" Soushouryu!" Tenten and the area around her was submersed in smoke creating a huge wind. Kisame brought a hand up to his face to cover his eyes. Two smokey forms of dragons shot up from the smoke and traveled high into the sky, intertwining with eachother, reducing themselves into the two outstretched scrolls that Tenten had taken out earlier. Most of the smoke subsided and Tenten shot up inbetween the two scrolls, with were still spinning around. She grabbed weapons from each scroll and kept throwing them at Kisame. But again his big blade kept defelecting them.

" Ha, even if you increase the number, it's still the same. My Samehada is impossible to decieve." Tenten still kept throwing many weapons, still having a long time until she was done. She knew someone would get the hint and take action.

" Let's go,Akamaru!" With a bark, the almost fully grow dog jumped into the air, it's silverish coat gleaming in the sun. Kiba did a few handseals.

" Jujin Bunshin!" Akamaru transformed into a replica of Kiba, landing next to him. They were completley identical. They began running towards Kisame.

" Jinju Konbi Henge!" Both " Kiba's" swirled their bodies so fast they looked like compressed tornado's, or like a spinning torpedo. They both intertwined in and out of eachother, making their way towards Kisame. Kisame noticed something coming at him from the side, his eyes widened.His blade was still busy defelcting the tons of weapons coming at them.

" Gatsuuga!" The two spinning comrades split and them came together with Kisame in the middle. It lifted him up into the air, as the two hit him over and over again.

The two jumped away, and let Kisame fall to the ground. All the Konoha shinobi waited, waiting for the smoke to reside. Was this it? Had they defeated Hoshigaki Kisame?

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**


	17. Chap 16: Kisame Falls: Roar Itachi, Roar

**Warnings ( IMPORTANT)**: The Akatsuki, in my fanfiction, have obtained all the Biju's, except for The Kyuubi ( Nine Tails Fox), and Hachibi ( Eight Tails Snake). Which belong to Naruto and a mysterious peron, to which you will find out soon.. These two Biju's are the most powerful, mainly due to the amount of Tails they have, which is linked to the amount of ultimate chakra they posses.

**Disclaimer**: If I owned the Naruto series, Sakura would become a kickass kunochi who could give Sasuke what's been comin to him! And she wouldn't be as wimpy and clingy either ..but there it is.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 17: Kisame Falls. Roar Itachi, Roar.**

(o)

(o)

(o)

"STOP IT!" Sakura's scream tore from inside her, the bellow echoing loudly throughout the forest clrearing. The crystalline drops of water were traveling down her face in a constant stream; her eyes squeezed shut as she screamed those words with every fiber of her being.

Everything grew silent as eyes traveled to her pitiful form on the ground, her shaking arms the only foundation for support; her cherry blink blossom hair slighly swaying in the wind as her emerald orbs silently pleaded. The cold Sharingan eyes continued to look at her, even as he continued to hold Naruto in an oxygen-destroying grasp; the said person's fists were cleanched tightly onto his arm.

"..Sakura-chan.." Naruto managed to mutter, his cerulean eyes dulling with each moment that passed by, his face continuing to hold that contorted look of pain as he struggled to stay conscious, the oxygen long since gone from his body.

"Please.." Sakura lowered her head, her whole body shaking from the swell of emotions. Tears endlessly dropped to the ground below her.

A good look around the clearing showed the expanze of bodies lying amidst it; the Konoha shinobi, her comrades, were all scattered throughout the forest floor, unconcious if not dead, and suffering from nearly if not fatal injuries. They had been attacked by a very powerful entity.

" Please!" Her head shot up as she screamed her plea once again. It was directed at Uchiha Itachi.

**Flashback**

All eyes were trained to the middle of the clearing, serious but prepared gazes awaiting the subsiding of the large cloud of smoke. The last few bits of rocks and debree had finally stopped crumbilng to a still, only the sizzling of the dust continuing to fall sounded the clearing.

Her emerald orbs were trained to the middle of the clearing as well, both her hands still planted in the ground. The slight humming of her pink eyes, though hardly audible, was apparent as she kept them reinforced, a sense of foreboding sweeping over her. She wouldn't waste one moment uncautious.

Her feeling was right as all eyes caught sight of a figure jetting out before the smoke had a time to clear, and the finaly dissapearing of the smoke provided no image to the large Akatsuki member once there. Their only warning was bloody body coming towards them at a fast pace. Where Kisame should have been dead, he was not. At least not at the moment. Its seemed apparent that he had planned to take as many of the Konoha shinobi with him as he could.

Sakura shot up as she saw this, letting out a small grunt of pain as she did so; her hand were already eniciated in a combo of seals.

"Shikamaru-san! You have to hold him again!" Her worried eyes looked over to her exhausted comrade who had already been preforming the seals. His very low if nonexistent chakra supply made itself obvious as he seemed to struggle with such a simple task.

"Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu!" The shadow hand immediately shot out towards Kisame.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Naruto let out a hardly discernable grunt of pain as he met the ground, resultant of a swift kick from Itachi. Immediately the Akatsuki member was upon him, already in aim his powerful fist. In a swift dissapearance Naruto avoided this, reapearing a few feet away.

His deep cerulean eyes burned as we watched Itachi calmly walk towards him.

It seemed to have been in his plans to prolong the time, all the number one loud ninja was doing was avoiding Itachi's attacks. It was in dim hope that some form of the Kyuubi's chakra would come back to him. though it was by far unsuccesful, he could feel nothing. Even as he brought his hand up in a very familiar seal, bringing upwards and parellel to his face, there was nothing.

"The Kyuubi won't come, Naruto-san… " Naruto's eyes slightly squinted in speculation at Itachi, his wavering eyes holding the Akatsuki member's as he slowed to a halt, a few feets distance seperating them. "A technique, in which reduces and reverses the Kyuubi's transformation. It now just awaits an extraction that will happen once you are immobile, dead if necessary." Naruto let out a grunt of frustration as he eyed Itachi, his fists clenching even tighter.

"Why?" His first word was spoken slowly, with a deep and low rumbling tone. "What do you want with the Kyuubi?"

"The Akatsuki has been hunting down the tailed beasts of this country. There is a total of nice, and they posses the ulitmate chakra, increasingly more so with each tail they have." As always, his words flew out in a cool, monotone hum, his voice indifferent and unemotional. "We have obtained obtained seven of these beasts: Shukaku, Nibi, Sonbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, and the Shichibi. We have yet to attain the remaining two, the Hachibi..and the Kyuubi."

"The Hachibi?" Naruto inquired. " Eight Tails?"

"One of the most powerful beasts, second to only the Kyuubi. But that hardly matters if the containers of these creatures are weak." He was referring to Naruto, and the other containers of the beasts before them, who could not use their powers to the full potential.

(Song: Orochimaru's song)

"The Hachibi, is a snake. Although it is not as powerful as the Kyuubi, it will be the most challenging one to capture, and the last. It is sealed in Orochimaru, although we do not know if he is aware of this, we have never seen him use it before, but it explains his ability to survive in the most unlikely of situations."

"Orochimaru.." Naruto muttered. Naruto found himself frozen trying to harvest all the information. He flashed back to all the encounters his team had with that man, if he could still be called one. And it also cleared up on thing that had still confused him to this day.

**Flashback ( in a flashback )**

"Rather than a ninja fight... shouldn't we call this a fight between monsters?" Kabuto analogized.

**End Flashback( in a flashback)**

Orochimaru and Naruto had been in battle, and Naruto was using his Kyuubi form. He hadn't thought deep into Kabuto's meaning of "monsters", but now everything was crystal clear. Even from the first time they met.

"But aren't you, yourself, stronger than him?" Naruto questioned.

"Orochimaru is afraid of me, he made the mistake of not killing me long ago, when he would have stood a chance. Though with the Hachibi, battle may prove to be difficult. We would rather not risk confrontation until we have the Biju's."

"How the hell," Naruto brought his cerulean eyes up once agian to meet Itachi's. "Do you plan on controlling all these beasts? You expect to do this with no mistake?" Itachi seemed to ignore Naruto's question as he in turn stated another.

"What is your decision, Naruto-san? Will you die trying to keep the Kyuubi, or will you surrender, and learn to live relying on your own power, as all other ninja do?

The Konoha Leaf's shinobi obscured his face from view, his body deathly still as his fists remained clenched.

(Song: Naruto: Rising Fighting Spirit)

"Everyone always tells me that.." Naruto muttered."Everyone always tells me that I'm not a true ninja, that I rely on the Kyuubi's power too much…that I have none of my own. They find ways to doubt me, even now…If it weren't for the Kyuubi, I would be dead right now… I wouldn't have ever made it this far.." Naruto brought his free hand up to his face, using the back of his hand to wipe the trickle of blood from this forehead.

"I don't believe that. I never will. My life has been changed by the Kyuubi, in more bad ways than I care to list. But I have learned to live with that, learn to use and control that power, facing the new challenges everyday, becoming stronger. This Kyuubi within me, is anything but a burden. Something that has become as vital to me as my heart. It has lent me it's power when I needed it the most, without me asking. Allowing me to help my friends… This..**_Beast_** within me..the Nine Tails.. is something that I will not give up! I will not run away…**that**, is my way of the ninja!"

Itachi closed his eyes. Grunting in amusement, and understanding.

"So be it."

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Kisame seemed to be in berserker mode, stronger and faster than before. He easily broke out of Shikamaru's jutsu the moment the shadow hand wrapped around him.Letting out a curse, Shikamaru preformed another set of handseals, determined not to stop until he suceeded. It was either keep tyring, or wait to be attacked, wait to die.

"Chikuso!" Shikamaru cursed. He had failed again, and he had preformed hand seals again, though they were slightly different than before. The differences were clearly seen, and realized too late, when the jutsu's name was spoken and displayed.

"Tajuu Kagemane No Jutsu!" A shadow shot out from Shikamaru's feet, locking under Kisame. There was no wasy breakage from this one. And as it worked better there was also a secret behind this technique, a hindrance. It of course allows the user to manipulate the movements of the opponent, but when one party sustains damage, the other sustains that same damage as well. If one party dies, so does the other.

"Fool!" Kisame started, his deep voice bellowing to a nearly discernable sound.

"Nara Shikamaru! Don't you dare!" Ino screamed, pleading with her comrade.

As Shikamaru held his seal, Kisame's own hands were held up in that same sea, though it was clear and evident his struggle to break free. It was clear the strain being forced upon Shikamaru as she shook, more beads of sweat perspiring on his forehead.

"Ah..troublesome," He muttered, however in strain, under his breath. He then slightly glanced behind him to adress his comrade. In the distance it was seen that Kisame was forced to do the same. "You do know I plan to break contact as soon as it's a guaranteed hit, right?" The way this lie was spoken brought into speculation its truth, made it highly beleivable. He would indeed try his best to live, but if it by any chance greatened the possiblitly of Kisame escaping he would not take it. He already knew that he would get caught in the explosion; the damage sustained depending on when and how he released his jutsu.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

There was a small area amidst the surrounding forest to the clearing, its lenghts not being greatly disturbed the by numerous sounds occuring around it; sounds in which only reached it through echoes. It was past the foliage of recently broken trees and disturbed wildlife; covered in rock and debris that a familiar figure was found. Resting on his stomach, the recent screams and large echoes of explosion reached his ears, awaking him from his unconciousness. In his pre-wakening turnings, his face moved to the side, revealing his handsome profile, revealing him to be ANBU member, Tenshi.

More distant yells sounded his ears.

"Shikamaru you bastard! You don't have to do this!" (Chouji)

That last yell made Tenshi stir even more, and he groaned in pain.

"Sakura! Tell him to stop! Don't you dare use that technique Sakura! Don't kill Shikamaru!" (Ino)

The mention of Sakura invaded Tenshi's ears, causing him to open his eyes. Using his last bit of strength and will, the ANBU member pushed him self off of the ground, doing all he could to overpower the pain that tried to consume him. He managed to stand on his two feet, using the tree to keep his balance. Tenshi looked in the direction of the yelling, getting a clear view of Sakura, and what he assumed were the reinforcements.

Judging by the looks of things, it was a very bad situation. And it sounded like some fool was going to try and play hero. With determination, Tenshi tried his best to block out the pain, and sprinted towards the clearing.

He left a trail of blood behind him.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

By now, everyone was yelling at Shikamaru. Telling him to stop. He looked over to Sakura who seemed to be silently panicking. They were yelling at her too, telling her not to use her technique. But he himself was yelling at her to use it. He couldn't hold Kisame for long. And Sakura was the only one who could finish him. Shikamaru tried again. He spoke calmly.

"Sakura! Do you want everybody to die? You know me, right? I'm not one who tries to play hero.. " He winced as he continued to hold Kisame in his jutsu, "You know that I wouldn't do this unless it was the only way, I'm not that stupid-"

"Baka! You are stupid! Look at what you're doing!" Ino interrupted him. By now, it looked like she was about to cry.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and opened them, once again looking at Sakura.

"Sakura, listen to me. This is the only way. We're not in any condition to fight any longer." They both looked around at the Shinobi around them.

Sakura's eyes watered as she looked at her comrades, they were all looking at her and Shikamaru as well, and they looked exhausted. Her head bowed down, her bangs obscuring emerald eyes from view. The chakra was begging to accumulate around her, slowly, but surely. She looked up to Shikamaru again, the accumulation of chakra had stopped, though her fists were glowing pink with stored with focused chakra. All she needed to do was slam her hands into the ground...It was then that she started to tremble.

"Sakura!" Despite all the yelling going on around them, she could still hear him.

"You-"

"Aaaagh!" Everyone's head snapped to Kisame as it seemed he was breaking out of Shikamaru's jutsu. Shikamaru was covered with sweat, and it looked as if he couldn't hold it any longer.

It all seemed quiet to Sakura, she couldn't hear anything anymore. She could hear her deep, desperate breaths, and hear her heart thumping in her chest. Her emerald eyes gazed hesitantly around at each one of her comrades, seeing their desperate looks, pleading with her not to do it. She looked to Kisame who was breaking free of Shikamaru's hold, he was begging to move. Her eyes then traveled back to look directly into Ino's eyes.

She felt the most guilty when looking into Ino's eyes. She knew that her friend had deep feelings for Shikamaru, though it seemed very unlikely she would ever admit it. And she had a feeling Shikamaru felt the same way. What he was doing now was an example of this.

"Sakura do it!" Shikamaru yelled. Sakura could barely hear him, she felt dizzy. Sakura had no time to think, with tears in her eyes, she took one last look at Ino. She must have seen the look in her eyes, her mouth immediately twisted with the word "no". Her body immediately started to run towards them.

With a cry, Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and slammed her fists into the ground.

The ground in front of Sakura split as the blinding light of the chakra traveled underneath, making it's way towards Kisame. Kisame saw this, and tried even harder. Shikamaru fell down to one knee. Only a few more seconds, a few more seconds and it would all be over. He watched as the blast grew closer and closer to Kisame.

_This is it.. _Shikamaru thought. Heh, he had wanted to live longer. ..though if that happy place did exist..he could be lazy all he wanted, and that wasn't so bad.

He eys lazily traveled to Kisame, percieving that blast about to consume him. Just as it looked like it did, he felt a weight collide with him, with enough force to bring him to the ground. He accidentally let go of the seal, releasing Kisame, who barely managed to dodge the explosion. He got nicked a bit. But as soon as Kisame dodged he was already advancing on them. He didn't have much time left to defeat them.

Shikamaru looked at Ino on top of him, realizing what just happened.

"Idiot!" He yelled to the blonde. Ino was crying, and holding on to him for dear life. Everything went in slow motion as Shikamaru saw Kisame advancing on them. Mustering all the strength he could, Shikamaru turned, his back facing Kisame. He was covering Ino, hoping to protect her. Kisame was on them, in the motion of swinging his sword.

Instead of feeling his skin tear apart, Shikamaru felt himself flying, as he was kicked very hard by someone. He turned his and Ino's bodies so that she landed on top of him. They skidded to a halt, Shikamaru's back breaking the fall.

Everybody's eyes widened as they saw someone standing where Ino and Shikamaru had just been. He was the one who kicked them out of the way, saving them from Kisame's sword. He set a few blow tags on Kisame, which blew up immediately. It was slowing him down.

The savior fell to one knee, trying to catch his breath. Even as blood dripped to the ground before him, his eyes were trained on Kisame..

Sakura's eyes widened. "Tenshi-san!"

The ANBU member raised his head, and looked over to Sakura who looked relieved and worried at the same time. He gave her a slight smile, masking his pain very well. He had no time to speak as he was forded to dodge another attack.

"Sakura-san! I can hold him off, try that technique once more!" Tenshi dodged another one of Kisame's swings.

"But you'll get caught in the explosion!"

"Don't worry.. I've also called for more reinforcements." He knew he would get caught in the explosion, but he didn't want to let Sakura know this. Another man playing hero. Sakura noticed the condition he was in, she didn't know who Tenshi could even stand.

"Trust me, Sakura-san.." Sakura wanted to believe his words, she convinced herself that she believed him. But deep down, she knew he was lying. " Promise me! Promise me your not gonna die!" Sakura still wanted to try anyway. Tenshi stopped and looked at Sakura, he gave her a slight smile.

"You can do it Sakura-san. I believe in you." Tenshi pulled out a few more blow tags, these one intending to stop Kisame long enough for Sakura to land a hit. Sakura did the long series of handseals, and looked at Tenshi before performing the last one. She noticed the look of pain on his face. Sakura closed her eyes and slammed her fists into the ground. As soon as she did so, Tenshi infused chakra into the blow tags, and put them on Kisame. They exploded, damaging Kisame more. Tenshi summoned up the last bit of his chakra, literally, and did a few handseals. He placed both of his hands on Kisame, and immediately a bright blue light surrounded both of them like a second layer of skin. It prevented both of them from moving.

Sakura noticed this and looked at Tenshi, her pink chakra eniciating it's explosion. It seemed to go in slow motion to Sakura, as she saw the bright pink light engulf them both. She made eye contact with Tenshi, who only smiled at her, nodding his head in a sort of goodbye.

Itachi and Naruto both paused at the big explosion they heard, snapping their heads in the direction where it came from. During their battle they had traveled far off from the rest of the group so they had no clue what was going on. But now, Itachi seemed to know. Naruto noticed Itachi's changed posture.

"Kisame!" With that hushed whisper, Itachi dissapeared, his destination very predictable. Naruto did the same, the two paying no heed to each other as they hurried towards the clearing.

The Konoha shinobi were forced to cover their eyes as the bright light blinded them. They could hear the tearing of the ground. When they re-opened their eyes, the Konoha shinobi waited, as the last rock crumbled to the ground, and the smoke cleared. They saw two bodies, lying on the ground, not very far apart from each other. They both looked lifeless, and were still singing from the heat of the explosion.

(Akatsuki Member Three: Kisame, Defeated.)

( Akatsuki Eight)

They watched in pity as they saw Sakura ran over to the ANBU member and immediately put her hands over him, trying to heal him with chakra she didn't have. Tears invaded her eyes as she looked upon Tenshi's face.

Everyone stopped as eyes caught sight of the figure standing at one of the entrances to the clearing. It was eerie in a sense as he just stood there, not speaking a word, his cold, emotionless demeanor still in place as his sharingan gaze transitioned to Kisame, the life stripped from his as he lay there, barron amidst the earth.

It had taken a short while before he slowly transitioned his gaze to the Konoha shinobi.

**End Flashback**

( Naruto: Sadness and Sorrow)

Itachi looked at Sakura, seeing how utterly miserable she looked. He could feel the life draining out of Naruto. Itachi looked away from Sakura and back to the person who he was choking. He could see the life in Naruto's eyes fading away, yet the guy was still looking at Sakura, as if he was saying sorry. He heard him mutter her name again, despite the lack of air he had.

"Sakura-chan.." Itachi squeezed Naruto's neck harder, watching as Naruto squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"Please stop it!" Sakura screamed again. She had no energy to move, what-so ever. Despite that, using the sheer force of will, Sakura made her way over to Itachi. The whole time Itachi was watching her. Sakura grabbed onto Itachi pulling herself up, so she would be able to grab onto his arm. Itachi let her. She kept weakly pulling down on his arms, begging him to stop. Sakura knew this was exactly how she used to act all those years ago, the only thing she was good at was crying. But right now she didn't care, right now..it was all she could do.

Itachi looked at Naruto once more, he looked back at Sakura for a moment, observing her tear stained face. He could feel the desperation rolling off of her, as he looked straight into her emerald orbs.

" I was the one who killed him! It was my chakra that made the explosion! I killed Kisame! I did! Not my friends! Not Naruto! I killed him!" She yelled. Sakura found herself with no more energy. " Please…" Sakura muttered one last time, before dropping to her knees. Her hands were still tightly clasped in Itachi's cloak. Itachi closed his eyes.

After a moment, he let go of Naruto, letting him drop to the ground. Itachi just stood there with his eyes closed for a while, when he opened them, he just stared ahead at nothing in particular for a while. He watched as Sakura crawled to Naruto, calling his name out over and over again.

Itachi closed his eyes again, and almost smirked, as he turned and walked over to Kisame. He crouched down next to Kisame, seemingly saying a few words, before taking off the Akatsuki member's ring, and putting it on the same finger which his own ring was placed. He was not allowed to bring the body with him.

Sakura looked over to the remaining Akatsuki member, as he turned to leave. She slowly stood up, watching his back. "Wait." She called. When he did not stop, Sakura called out again. "Wait!" Itachi still did not stop. With a determined look, Sakura forced her weak body to run after him. Before heading out of the clearing, Sakura looked at the group of Shinobi, she remembered Tenshi saying that more people were coming, so they were safe till then. At the thought of Tenshi, Sakura grew saddened. Sakura looked at all her comrades. She couldn't just leave them like that.

She made her way over to Naruto, who was unconscious. She used a hand to brush the hair out of his face. Sakura even had to admit, that he had grown quite handsome over the years. Sakura found herself being overcome with tears.

"Naruto.." She muttered painfully. Along with his name came the tears, as they dropped onto his face. Sakura realized that she was crying again and forced herself to stop. With a deep shakey breath, she carefully dragged Naruto over to where to others were.

After a few minutes Sakura manged to put all the unconscious Shinobi in a line next to eachother. She had used the last bit of her chakra to they and partially heal some of their major wounds. She could spare no more. She looked at them all. They had come here to save her, got hurt because of her, almost died because of her. Everything that's happened, it was all because of her. Sakura was relieved at the realization that they were all still alive. They could have easily been killed, which brought her thoughts back to Itachi.

Sakura looked into the forest where Itachi had headed through. With a deep breath, she ran after him, hoping he hadn't disappeared. Luckily, he was just walking through, seemingly not in much of a hurry. By the time she caught up, they were already deep in the forest. Sakura was already tired, and she could feel her wounds reopening. Despite that, she pushed herself further, and made her way in front of him, standing her ground.

Itachi stopped looking straight into her eyes with no emotion. His eyes were cold, but not threatening. He seemed..sad. But he was very good at hiding it. He just looked at her without saying a word. Sakura put her hands on her knees and hunched over, trying to catch her breath. She sensed him ready to move again, but she put her hands up.

"WAIT." Sakura took one last breath and straightened up, looking Itachi in the eyes.

She closed her eyes, and slowly lowered down to her knees. She put her hands and the ground, and bowed, bringing her head all the way down to touch her hands.

"Thank you..You didn't have to stop. You could have killed them, you could have killed Naruto, you could have killed me….Thank you." She kept her head bowed down. She didn't want him to see her tears for the second time. But when Itachi said nothing, she looked up to him, noticing his expression was still the same. He had the same cold demeanor as Sasuke. She bowed again.

" Thank you!" She looked up to him again, more tears in her eyes, she couldn't express the deep gratitude she was feeling. She felt she had to repay him somehow. She bowed down again. "Thank you!" Her head was still bowed down, but she peeked up at Itachi. She watched as Itachi closed his eyes, almost smirking. He walked past her.

Sakura slowly got up, and looked at his retreating back. An image of Sasuke walking away entered her mind for a second, but she forced it out of her head. She ran after Itachi yet again. She wouldn't let this Uchiha get away. She continued walking next to him, trying to get him to make eye contact with her. Whether he objected or not, she didn't know, she didn't care. This was the first time the Sakura actually got a good look at his facial features. He was very handsome, resembling Sasuke very much.

She kept her eyes trained on him, finding herself not able to look away. When she saw his eyes turn towards her, she immediately cast her eyes downward, trying to play it off. She felt Itachi's eyes on her for a while, and she couldn't control that redness that was threatening to invade her cheeks. She let out the breath she had seemingly been holding when he looked away. Sakura's eyes traveled back to him, only to quickly turn away as his eyes traveled to her yet again. They seemed to play a sort of game back and forth.

She didn't feel any sense of danger when she was with this man, she wasn't scared, or uncomfortable. The pain she felt was pushed to the back of her mind, something she didn't feel like worrying about at the moment. Instead, she was overcome with the feeling of wanting to know this man. Not Sasuke's brother. Just Uchiha Itachi.

That day, she grew to respect him.

Sakura looked ahead, at where they were headed, the sun rising into the sky, peaking into the forest. She clasped her hands together behind her, in a thoughtfu, cheerful way, and continued walking. She found herself not able to contain a huge smile that graced her lips.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading! **

**Just to let you know...this is giong to be a Sasu/Saku fic, but i'm just spicing it up with Ita/saku**

**I hope that wasn't confusing. If you have any questions, or w/e just ask. -**

**A character who hasn't been seen in the recent chapters will make an appearance next chapter!**


	18. Chap 17: Feelings Rekindled

**A/N: **Thank you for the reviews! I love reading them! I hope this was updated fast enough. The whole week I was gone horseback riding. Haha my ghetto ass learned how to ride a horse! Latino's on horses is not something you see everyday.

**Warnings: **Typing this chapter made me think whether or not it should be a Sasu/Saku fic in the end, or an Ita/Saku. So it's all up to you readers! Leave a comment on which you would prefer. The story can change completely for either couple.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series…Sasuke would be acting the exact same way he is with the whole Itachi thing, because if you think about it, what Sasuke is doing about it, is reasonable, even though it's wrong. You can't blame him at all. He's not an asshole. T.T How would you take it? What would you do? WWJD?

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile **

**Chapter 17: Feelings Rekindled.**

(o)

(o)

(o)

It had been a few hours since Sasuke had last heard an explosion. He had been traveling towards the direction where the sound had been coming from, curious as to what had been going on. He realized he was close now, noticing the damage to the trees as he got closer to a clearing. He could sense faint traces of chakra, meaning that there were survivors of what he assumed was a big battle.

As he entered the clearing, the first thing that caught Sasuke's eyes was the numerous bodies placed in a single file line on the ground. He walked towards them, noticing that they were all still alive, but it seemed impossible with the amount of wounds that were present on their bodies. A highly skilled medical nin must have been present.

Sasuke looked at the faces of the fallen shinobi, noticing that they all looked familiar. His eyes almost widened as he saw a very familiar face, adorned with spiky blonde hair. He had not shirt on, and the usual seal that perspired near his belly button was no longer there.

Naruto.

Sasuke looked at his former teammate for a while before looking around the clearing some more. He wanted to know what the hell had happened. What the hell was able to defeat Naruto to this extent, especially when he had all these other shinobi with him?

The Uchiha noticed weapons strewn everywhere. There was also a huge crater nearby, that looked like it was a few feet in depth, and very wide. A huge amount of chakra had been in play, but who could be able to do such a thing with just chakra? Who would have that much to spare after a battle like this? Sasuke made his way over to it, looking down into its depths. He noticed two bodies lying amongst the broken rebel.

He was about to look away until something else caught his eyes. A black coat, adorned with red-outlined clouds. A jacket he knew very well. Sasuke jumped down into the crater, and took a good look at the body in which the coat was worn.

An image appeared in Sasuke's head. It was the day that he had finally met his brother again. Two figures clad in the same black coat stood before him, next to Naruto. As Sasuke looked at the body lying in the rebel before him, he recognized that man immediately.

Hoshigaki Kisame.

Sasuke had done some research on Itachi, and the organization he was with. Kisame was no easy foe to defeat, let alone kill.

Sasuke immediately jumped out of the crater and looked at the shinobi laying on the ground. They must have defeated the guy. But something was still confusing the Uchiha. Sasuke's head snapped to the side as her he heard someone mutter something. He didn't quite catch who it came from.

"Sakura-san" Someone painfully moaned. Sasuke's steps faltered at the name being muttered, his eyes traveling over to voice in which the name was being called. Sasuke appeared in front of a ninja adorned in a green spandex suit. He had mushroom cut, yet shiny hair, and very "fuzzy" eyebrows. These features were familiar to him, allowing his brain to come up with the name Rock Lee. But Sasuke didn't care; he was more interested in the name that had been spoken.

"..No..Sakura-san." Lee muttered again.

It was then that everything in Sasuke's mind clicked into place. The pink hair that was strewn across the ground made it even clearer.

Sasuke shot up, bringing Lee up with him. He held him in the air by the collar of his suit. "Where's Sakura?" Sasuke commanded. His voice was very stern and seemingly resolved. But Sasuke got no answer as Lee fell unconscious again.

"Kuso!" He silently muttered. Sasuke let him drop to the ground.

" ..Sasuke..teme.." Sasuke's head snapped at the sound of Naruto's voice. The said person was now on his stomach, struggling to get on his knees.

"Sasuke..teme.." Naruto managed to speak out again. It was clearer this time, but Sasuke could hear the pain in his voice. It was very difficult for him to speak. Naruto knew that he was there. Sasuke made his way over to Naruto, crouching down in front of him. He had a small smirk on his face.

"You let yourself get beat up this bad, dobe?" Sasuke thought out loud, loud enough for Naruto to hear. But his voice wasn't cold or mocking. His voice had a hint of sorrow in it, one that was barely recognizable. Naruto didn't pay any heed to Sasuke's last comment. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut, signaling the great amount of pain he was in.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto stated firmly. He opened his eyes again, and Sasuke could see the pain he was in. It seemed that Naruto didn't want to talk to Sasuke at all, but he knew that he was the only one who could "save" Sakura. That is, if the Uchiha decided to.

"Where is Sakura, Naruto?" Sasuke sternly said. He heard Naruto silently curse under his breath. He tried getting up again, only to fail horribly.

"Chikuso…Itachi." With those words, the hairs on Sasuke's head stood on end. Not out of fear, but anticipation, and a disgusted kind of excitement. Anxiety. This came with the realization of what happened in this clearing. The battle, everything. He felt sick to his stomach. Sasuke stood up, taking one last glance at Naruto, who's pained eyes were squinting up at him.

_Itachi! _Sasuke roared in his head. He immediately sprinted from the clearing.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura was now a few feet behind Itachi, his back the only thing visible to her. She was very tired, her exhaustion finally sinking in after the rush of adrenaline she had earlier. The pain also kicked in too. She could feel her abdomen slowly bleeding. She tried her best to push those to the back of her mind.

She had been thinking of something to say, anything that would break the silence that had been between them ever since they left the clearing. Sakura didn't even know why she was following him. During her musings, Sakura tracked back to the friends she had left in the clearing. It brought a question up to mind that she had been meaning to ask. The pink-haired woman picked up her pace, making her way next to Itachi.

"Ano..Why didn't you kill them?.. I mean back there at the clearing-the others." Sakura realized the way she worded that, and tried again. "- I mean it's not that I wanted them dead!- I'm very grateful that you stopped- I was ju-"

"It is of no importance." Itachi interrupted.

Sakura was quiet for a moment, contemplating what he had just said. With a huff, Sakura ran in front of Itachi. She managed to hide the wince of pain that accompanied. "It's important to me! I just wanna know why." Sakura stood her ground, staring Itachi in the eyes. Itachi stopped, looking into Sakura's eyes as well. He seemed unfazed by her words, and just stared at her coldly.

"Why are you following me?" An impassive inquiry, yet stated almost quietly.

Sakura was about to open her mouth to reply, but she found she had nothing to say. Why was she following him? Uchiha Itachi, one of the only two survivors of the Uchiha clan, which he so brutally murdered himself. The man that Sasuke wants to kill? Wasn't she betraying Sasuke by doing this? What did she think of Itachi? What did she think of Sasuke?

She didn't know anymore. She didn't know anything. All she knew was…

"I..just want to, is all."

The older Uchiha continued walking, bearing no indication as to him replying to her words. She followed in pursuit, and despite her hasty walking she fell behind, once again. It was more so her exhaustion that slowed her down, pain something she could push through. Willpower was nothing in a fight against exhaustion, not when so mainy other ailments were fighitng against her. She let out a small grunt of both pain and dissatisfaction as she was forced to stop, slightly hunching over from the pain and exhaustion.

As her emerald eyes looked to the back of Itachi in panick of falling even more behind, they slightly widened curiously, peculiarly as he came to a halt.

Hands resting on her knees, she continued to watch the Uchiha as he walked towards her, his emotionless demeanor not hinting to his intentions. It was when he unerringly picked her up did she let out a small gasp.

The moment he touched her, she had felt no pain. Whether it was something he was doing or suprise, she wasn't really up for differing. She had no energy for a small plea for him to put her down, nor worry at the fact of her life being in his hands, or literally, arms. She had let herself succomb to the darkness of sleep just as soon as he had wordlessly picked her up.

..ooo000ooo000ooo...

Her emerald eyes glistened as they fluttered open, the luminiscent light shining through the open window bouncing off their depths. She stayed like that for a few moments, taking in her surroundings, making notice of the soft surface to which she layed on.Her eyes traveled to the open window, noticing that day had faded to night. Only when the recent events refound themselves in her mind did she shoot up from her posistion on the bed. A momentary pause ensued as she grasped her abdomen in pain as she let out a small grunt of pain.

She let out a shakey breath as the pain subsided, letting her gaze transition around the room. They rested on a figure barely discernable in the darkness. As if one que, Sharingan eyes revealed themselves to stare at her, unblinking.

"Sas-" She caught herself mid-mutter as her eyes readjusted to the darkness, revealing the figure to be Uchiha Itachi.

"Your awake." His voice was impassive,emotionless, yet all the more gentle. Something was different about Itachi, something had changed very recently. Something was..bothering him?

"Do you miss him. My little brother." Itachi inquired silently, again impassively.

She studied him for a moment, taken back by his question, more so taken back by her pause. She was very aware of the way her body tensed up at the younger Uchiha's name.

"No." Her answer was very curt, stern as she tried to level out the waver.

(Song: Planetarium by Otsuka Ai)

"Your not a good liar, Sakura-san." Her head lifted slightly as she said this, her emerald widening as she gazed into his emotionless eyes, very reminiscent of Sasuke.

She found that she hadn't really thought of Sasuke in a while. She had been running away from her emotions, and for what reasons she really didn't know why. Of course she didn't want to cry, she didn't want to give herself time to. For the longest time she avoided any thought concerning him. But it didn't matter how often she thought about it, whether it was often or once in a long while.

The deep love she felt for Sasuke invaded every part of her body.

She let a smile travel to her face.

"..I'm not," She let her sparkling eyes travel to Itachi. "Huh?" She let out a small grunt of amusement before returning her eyes downcast. After a small moment she returned her gaze to Itachi's stationary gaze.

"How about you, are you a liar, Uchiha Itachi?"

A breif silence unsued as they locked gazes, her slightly watering yet feigned cheerful eyes holding emotionless, unblinking Sharingan.

"No."

She didn't know why, she didn't know how, but she knew that something was bothering Itachi.Something that was supposed to be impossible to tell, that was impossible to tell. She just knew, this feeling, this completley foreign feeling invaded her. It was guilt, regret. It wasn't hers, she had no reason to feel this way. Sadness. But it wasn't hers. Love. But it wasn't hers. Pain. Hurt that was not the hurt she suffered.

Her eyes slightly squinted as more tears gathered at her eyes, threatening to overspill.

"Then, can you tell me..honestly..why?"

The was no discernable change in his figure, stance, his eyes. They continued to stare at her, unblinking.

"Why...you did this to Sasuke?" Her voice slightly cracked with cry as she voiced his name, yet no tear fell. Not yet.

Itachi still said nothing.

She let out small, feigned laugh. Though the sadness, the slighty cry in her vocals was easily heard, even as she tried to hide it. Her smile was still strongly held as shook her head, averting her eyes breifly before returning to his.

"You know...he left me because of you..." She let out another sad laugh. "He even tried to kill me..its funny, huh?"

Noting Itachi's silence, she continued, continuing to feign her cheerfulness, even though she knew, she just knew the older Uchiha could see right through her. "I always used to make up excuses..telling myself it was because of me..I know I was very annoying..I was young back then..but even now...I've grown...I've changed my ways. But he still is the same." She let her eyes travel to the ceiling, her smile still prominent. "Its him. Its you. You both are the reason why he's like he is now."

Itachi still said nothing. His gaze was still on her, and there was no apparent change.

"I tried time and time to talk to him...but all he ever cared about, even above himself, above me,was you." This time as she glanced back to Itachi's sharingan eyes, a lone tear made its way down her face.

Sakura reinforced her smile as she brought up a hand to wipe the lone tear.

"You're all he would talk about. He wants to kill you, he thinks it will make everything better if he kills you, the man who murdered his family, his clan. The cold, horrible man who could easily do such a thing. Who could stand by, and watch as his little brother destroyed himself, his friends, his home.." She let out another humourous grunt of amusement, her eyes continuing to sparkle.

"You've created a monster, you know?"This time she let her gaze travel to his once again, not transistioning them elsewhere. She held her large smile, even as the tears started to pour down her face. "He's become just like you...killing innocent people...you did kill innocent people, right?They didn't do anything to you, did they?Your clan...they were innocent people..right?...Sasuke was innocent...him and his clan...they got their lives taken away, you know?" Even more tears poured down her face, and it was then that the struggle to keep her smile was clearly perceived.

"He must really love you, neh?" She took a quick moment to sniffle. "He's dedicated his life to you, he's doing anything he can to find you, he can't forget you.."She let out another laugh. "..Am I a bad person, to feel..just a little jealous?"

"You're not a bad person, Sakura-san." She was slightly suprised at his words, even more so at the fact that he had spoken. His tone was very soft, quiet, genuine. Though his words only brought more tears to her eyes.

"How about you, are you a bad person? If you were really as bad as Sasuke's beleives you to be, you wouldn't be talking to me, would you? You wouldn't have taken care of me. You wouldn't have let Sasuke, live, right?" Her wavering eyes almost seemed hopeful. She had accepted the fact that Sasuke was turning out to be like Itachi. She was hoping to see good in Itachi, so that she could see good in Sasuke. She was hoping that things weren't as bad as they seemed to be. She was hoping that she could understand. Understand why she was feeling this way. Why she was telling Itachi all this.

Why she wanted anything to know that Itachi wasn't a cold-blooded killer.

A long silence ensued, and for that long period of time she kept her watering eyes locked to his, as he did to her. He still said nothing, and after a moment she let out a barely discernable, amused huff. She let a smile grace her lips once again as her gaze fell downcast. It was then that his sudden voice pulled her head back upwards.

"When he was younger, he adored me." Her surprised gaze returned to Itachi. "...Our father, the entire clan.. they pushed me to do everything. Anything other than perfect was no exception...I was to climb the shinobi social ladder, become the bridge to more important clans, important people. I was thought of as a success...not as a son..."Her emerald eyes flashed with even more sadness, wavered even more as she continued to listen to him. "He had wanted to be just like me..Sasuke..he was the only thing I cherished. His innocence was everything. But his naiveness also made him foolish, un-open to the true ways of the Uchiha clan. He knew only what they feigned to a child such as he.." His eyes remained unchanging, though she hardly caught an undiscernable flicker of something, something that had crossed over the depths of his eyes. "The way Sasuke looked up to me, the feelings for me he made clearly evident, was something I had never experienced before...it had kept me going, if only for a momentary time..but it did not stop me from reaching beyond the social bridge I was to be.."

"So in other words you wanted to rebel.." She did her best to make humor of it..finding herself wanting to cry even more. Cry at the fact that she had been wrong about everything, that everyone had been wrong. That Itachi..in his own way..had been right.

Itachi breifly closed his eyes, letting out a small, hardly discernable grunt of amusement. "To measure my full capacity, Sakura-san, I knew that Sasuke and the Uchiha clan would only make that goal impossible."

Her wavering gaze was fixated on him for a moment longer before she lowered her head, letting her pink locks of hair fall, obscuring her face from view. Though the little droplets that started to soak a small area of the bedsheet before her defeated the purpose.

"You couldn't kill Sasuke because of your deep love for him." Sakura concluded, the cry in her voice unmistakable.

"There were many reasons, Sakura-san." It was then that his gaze finally left her, looking to the ground before him. "Hate is all I know. I have nothing left." His voice was still impassive, yet this was said quietly.

**_"Why don't you tell me, Sakura...when did I ever mention...wanting happiness?"_**

Her head snapped up when she sensed Itachi's movement. His back was facing her as he turned to walk out of the room. Her watering emerald eyes stayed on him as he started to move, wavering deeply, determinedly by the time he placed his hand on the doorknob. With determination she pushed herself off the bed in one movement, ignoring the pain and almost jumping off the bed as she fell towards him, tears falling in a stream behind her.

Itachi's strength allowed him to stay planted as she fell into him from behind, wrapping her arms around him tightly. As she did so his Sharingan eyes transitioned to her, silently watching her as she cried into the back of his cloud-patterned cloak, soaking it in the process.

_**"Hate is all I know, I have nothing left."**_

She understood everything now. Itachi was just like Sasuke. He was suffering, he was lonely, he was strong, enduring. Yearning for help that both would never think to ask for.

"Then let me show you love.."Her words to him were in a soft cry, the only pauses were for her to try and control a sob or hitch of breath. "Let me love you..so that you don't have to be alone anymore!" There was a brief pause as she was overcome by a few more sobs, she squeezed the older Uchiha tighter.

His Sharingan gaze had considerably softened as he looked to her, a slight wavering shaking it before he averted his gaze to rest ahead of him, at nothing in particular. He said nothing. After a moment he closed his eyes, as if trying to control something.

Emotion.

"I'm sorry.." she started again, the cry in her voice even greater. "I'm so sorry that I had been one more person against you, not knowing anything about you, judging you.._hating _you for something that you didn't do, for something that wasn't your fault..please forgive me."

Itachi's eyes had slowly opened once again, still remaining focused on nothing in particular. "..there is nothing to forgive.." He said after a while, words soft, almost slow in their speech. Sakura's watering emerald orbs finally opened as her sobs had ceased. She was much calmer as she slightly loosed her grasp so that she could slowly swing around to Itachi's front.

Their gazes met as she looked up at him sadly, hopefully.

"Then let me give you a reason to live.." Her words to him were very calm, her emerald orbs wavering, tears continuing to flow as she looked up to him. "Let me help you let go of all your hate, so that you don't have to suffer anymore.." She pushed herself onto her toes as she reached up to hug him around the neck. "Let me save you both.." She whispered into him as she closed her eyes, even more tears starting to flow.

She realized in her own words that Sasuke and Itachi were very alike, in ways that they may not have known. They were suffering all the same, hating all the same, destroying themselves all the same. And each other was their answer, their savior. The other would be a way to end that, and it was only in a way that they perceived was battle, that would be an end to everything.

Sasuke...he was well aware of his love for his older brother...and he hated it. He justified his actions as revenge for his clan..which was true..but in his own way..killing Itachi would also free him from the adoration that still tried to conquer his thoughts.

Itachi...he had let his little brother live..not only because he loved him...but because he wished for Sasuke to kill him. He was the only one who could. The only one who could finally release him from this hell-like world he lived in.

But what they both didn't realize was that it would only make Sasuke's life more miserable.

Her heart ached for the Uchiha brothers.

They both needed love.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The rain was coming down in constant sheets now, soaking the figures which were traveling in the darkness.

"Kakashi, we're very close now. It should be in the clearing ahead." What looked to be a small dog, spoke with it's deep voice. It was Pakkun, wearing the usual jounin outfit. He fell behind for a second as he pushed off another tree branch.

"Are they all there?" The jounin ninja asked.

"I believe so. Although the rain is making it hard for me to be sure."

Kakashi glanced to the Medical ANBU behind them, exchanging a slight nod, as they continued. Tenshi had contacted them via Sakura's comlink, as promised, telling them of the horrible situation they were in. Medical ANBU were dispatched immediately, Kakashi persuaded the Hokage to let him go as well.

They all slowed down as they reached the clearing. Pakkun immediately ran over to the shinobi they spotted laying on the ground in a single file line. He sniffed them all and looked up to Kakashi. "They're all alive." The ANBU medical ninja's immediately made their way over to the Konoha shinobi, checking their injuries. Kakashi looked sadly at the condition of the shinobi. A horrible battle had taken place.

Kakashi looked at all of them, noticing one was missing. "Pakkun, can you pick up Sakura's scent?" The dog stopped and put his nose up into the air, doing his best to sniff in the rain.

"Sakura was here, her scent is on each of these shinobi. Mainly Naruto.." The dog answered. " Kakashi..Itachi was here..Sasuke was here as well." Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Kakashi-san come over here, quick." Kakashi looked to an ANBU who had wandered near a huge crater. He was looking at something in the crater, eyes wide. When he neared, Kakashi looked as well, his eyes immediately widening. He saw the ANBU member Tenshi, who had already been taken out. He was dead. Kakashi looked to the other body in the crater, immediately recognizing him.

Hoshigaki Kisame.

He flashed back to the battle he had with them in Konoha.

He was dead as well. That was proof that Itachi had been here. What amazed him was that the ninja who were unconscious right now managed to defeat Kisame.Kakashi took another look at the shinobi who were being hauled onto the ANBU members backs.

" Kakashi-san, they aren't in critical condition, but if they aren't taken back to Konoha they will be. Someone has already partially healed them, the reason in which they are still alive. It's practically a miracle."

_Sakura.._

Kakashi looked to the last ninja who they were getting ready to lift up. He noticed that something was different about the young man. " Hold on." Kakashi told the Medical ANBU as he made his way over to Naruto. His eyes widened as his suspicions were correct.

The Kyuubi's seal which was usually around Naruto's belly button was no longer there. What exactly happened? The Kyuubi couldn't already be with the Akatsuki, it wasn't that easy to extract it. But then..where exactly was the Kyuubi? Was it still somehow inside of Naruto? That would be impossible.

But just looking at Naruto made Kakashi hurt. He was in horrible shape. Where would he have been without Sakura's healing powers? Kakashi made up his mind. He wasn't leaving until he brought Sakura back with him.

"Hang in there, Naruto." Kakashi was about to stand up until the blonde haired man opened his cerulean eyes. His face was slightly cringed in pain.

"Take..take..me with you." Naruto muttered. He knew exactly where Kakashi was going. Kakashi looked Naruto in the eyes, silently agreeing. There was no way he could refuse. This was a very personal matter, for the both of them.

"It's all my fault.." He heard Naruto mutter to himself. Without a word, Kakashi put the young man on his back, fully standing up.

"Kakashi-san, we are leaving now," The ANBU member gave Kakashi a communicator. "Here. Contact us if there are any problems." With that, the medical ANBU ran off with the rest of the Konoha shinobi, on a trail straight back to Konoha. Kakashi watched them until they were out of sight.

"Alright Nar-" Kakashi looked back to see that Naruto had fallen asleep/unconscious again. With a slight smile, Kakashi continued with Pakkun, following the path that Itachi, Sakura, and Sasuke had taken. Kakashi had a feeling they would all meet. Kakashi had a determined look on his face.

He was going to find Sakura, if not for Naruto's sake.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Hope ya liked it!**

**Oh and, i know that the leader of the Akastuki is still unknown, so i was wondering if you readers could help me out..meaning give me ideas on who you think the leader is, or how you would prefer him to look. It would be much appreciated!**


	19. Chap 18: Sakurasama?

**A/N:** Wow..Thanks so much for the reviews! Thanks to them I have a GREAT idea on how the story is going to progress..i'm not going to give any spoilers. Hehe!

**Warnings**: Sorry for not making that clearing in the last chapter, but Itachi and Sakura have reached the headquarters for the Akatsuki Nine, well at least in the area. They all decided to meet there, but they didn't know Itachi was going to bring Sakura with him, she was resting in his room last chapter

Also, sorry I know in the earlier chapters I said that all the Akatsuki were alive in my story, but I decided to just leave Sasori dead. So the Akatsuki currently has Seven Members, since Kisame and Sasori are dead.

**IMPORTANT:** I decided to make up who the leader is. I have many beliefs on who he could actually be with plenty of proof to back it up. But who he is in this story has nothing to do with who I think he is in the anime/manga. So, I'm not going to spoil who he is in this story, but you'll soon find out!

**Disclaimer**: If I owned the Naruto series, Itachi would have a hella good reason for killing the whole Uchiha clan other than to test his "capacity". Sorta like the reason I gave in the last chapter, but more in depth. I like Itachi…but not more than Sasuke! MEEP!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 18: Sakura-sama?**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Uchiha Itachi stood in the forest at the break of dawn. The green leaves attached the the many tall trees were still dripping from the nights non-merciless rain. His eyes were closed, but as usual, his senses sharp as ever. He was very aware of the presence to his right, watching him intently. After a moment Itachi's eyes opened and sharply traveled to the figure beside him, signaling the figure to speak.

"The bodies are no longer there, Itachi. Konoha ANBU must have all ready come. You best be on you guard." The holder of the voice was Zetsu. His childlike appearance not matching his deep voice.

(Akatsuki Member Nine: Zetsu, Ring:Kai(boar))

"Hn." Was all Itachi said as he closed his eyes again. Zetsu still didn't retire from his side.

"That woman..the one you have up in you room. She better not be a hindrance to our mission. If so I'll kill her myself-." Zetsu let out a startled, yet constricted gasp when a mysterious hand shot out, cutting off his oxygen supply. The Venus flytrap around his head did nothing to stop Itachi's hand.

"Do not touch her." Itachi camly said with his emotionless voice, he need not change his voice to get the point across. Zetsu glared at the calmer Akatsuki member that was cutting off his oxygen supply. Itachi released his grasp. After taking a second to regain his breath, Zetsu glared at Itachi, watching his back as he walked away.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Itachi, still keeping up his emotional facade, made his way over to his room, where Sakura had been resting. As he walked down the hallway, nearing his room, he observed that there was no sound coming from inside. He didn't need to open the door as he sensed no one inside. He was easily able to detect Sakura's chakra. He didn't know why though.

Itachi still walked into his room, confirming the fact that Sakura was gone. Itachi contemplated for a moment. It was no order for him to bring Sakura here. He was about to walk out the room and look for her, until another figure appeared in his room.

"Itachi." Itachi looked into the eyes of Kakuzu, an Akatsuki member he was not all too familiar with. The last few days when the whole Akatsuki came together again, was the first time he had seen other than Kisame for years.

(Akatsuki Member Six: Kakuzu, Ring: Hoku(North))

"Zetsu and Deidara have been sent to capture the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, something you surprisingly failed at. Zetsu has also found the whereabouts of your brother.." Kakuzu kept his eyes trained on Itachi, looking for any sort of reaction, which he did not get. Itachi's eyes stared straight into his, unlinking.

"Kakuzu-san, do you know where she is?" Itachi asked. Kakuzu almost forgot how well-manered Itachi was, always using "san" at the end of someone's name. Nonetheless, he knew who Itachi was referring to.

"Ah..the woman. Why did you bring her here, Itachi? I know she's from Konoha, with those other shinobi. Why did you not kill her?"

Itachi did not answer. Kakuzu laughed.

"Don't tell me you have a heart Itachi…your not known to lust after woman either..but she is rather a very pleasing sight. She's got a temper on her as well."

"You know where she is?" Itachi stated this more than asked. He assumed with the last statement that Kakuzu knew exactly where she was.

"The leader has called for her presence." Itachi's eyes snapped to the Akatsuki member, he said nothing, but anyone could see the change in his stature and stare. Kakuzu had his attention.

"**Don't tell me you didn't notice the resemblance, Itachi.** They must be of the same clan… he had asked for your presence as well. This is what I have been sent here to inform you." With that Kakuzu disappeared.

Itachi disappeared right after him.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sasuke was literally flying through the forest. His body was screaming at him for rest, but those unimportant sensations were pushed to the back of his head, something he learned to do long ago. Something he was not able to do the same with were the rage of jealousy and anger coursing through his veins, swelling up inside of him. It was something he did not understand though. Jealousy? For what? Sakura? The rage consuming him prevented Sasuke from scoffing at his thoughts.

"Itachi! You will die, I swear it!" He hissed under his breath. This day finally came, after a great number of years. He never counted them. To Sasuke, it seemed like an eternity. One of great suffering and agony. It was all going to end on this day. That thought made him go even faster.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Kakashi was still traveling through the forest with Naruto and Pakkun, following Sasuke's trail, knowing it would lead them to Sakura. Kakashi took a worried glance back to Naruto, who was being carried on his back. His eyes were slightly opened, but his cerulean eyes seemed unfocused, they had no light in them.

Naruto's wounds would usually be healed right now, due to the Kyuubi's chakra. That was another clue that lead Kakashi to believe that something was wrong with the Kyuubi, if it was even in Naruto. But Kakashi was almost positive that the Kyuubi was still in Naruto, he didn't know why, but he didn't know why not either. But then, that lead to another thing that confused the jounin. Kakashi knew all about the Akatsuki's goal to obtain all the Biju's. A technique which reverses the Biju's transformation, but in order to completely take out the Biju from the Jinchuuriku, it required a three-day long technique that usually killed the jinchuuriku.

Kakashi assumed that Itachi was the one who reversed the Kyuubi's transformation, but had he found a way to extract the Kyuubi without killing Naruto? If so, then why? Why did he leave Naruto alive, including all the Konoha shinobi?

"Kakashi, at this rate, it'll probably take another day before we reach Sasuke, or where he's headed." Pakkun's voice could be heard.

"Ok." Kakashi answered. His eyes were trained ahead of them.

"Kakashi-sensei.." Kakashi looked back to Naruto, who was about to mutter something else. But Pakkun opened his mouth as well.

"Kakashi!" That's all he needed to say, as his eyes snapped to the forest in front of them.

Two cloaked figures appeared in front of them, causing them to slow down to a halt.

"Hey, you with the silver hair, that's the Kyuubi's jinchuuriku, yeah?" Deidara was looking at the person on Kakashi's back.

"That's him." Zetsu agreed.

(Akatsuki Member Five: Deidara, Ring:Sei(Blue/Green))

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

(Akatsuki Member Nine: Zetsu, Ring:Kai(Boar/Gen))

" Let go of me!" Sakura yelled, as she struggled to break her arm free. It did nothing to help as the figure adorned in a black cloak carelessly dragged her along side him. They were traveling down a long, dimly lit, hallway. A huge door could be seen at the end. Sakura bought her free hand up and started pounding on his arm, she found it very hard to do as she was still exhausted.The figures free hand came out and grabbed Sakura's face, they stopped moving down the long hallway.

"Your quite the aggressive little flower aren't you?" His voice was teasing and seductive at the same time. It was then Sakura got a good look at him. He had blond hair that was seemingly brushed back. It barely reached down to the end of his neck. His black cloak was slightly unbuttoned, showing his toned, bare chest.

(Akatsuki Member Seven: Hidan, Ring: San(three))

His deep blue eyes traveled down, taking a good look at her body. He seemed to be undressing her with his eyes. Sakura's face grimaced into a look of disgust. Her face was still scrunched together by his free hand. With a sly grin on his face, Hidan's other hand removed itself from Sakura arm and slowly traveled to her face. He gently stroked her cheek. Sakura's eyes, glared into his, slightly moving away from his touch, but again her movements were limited due to his grasp on her face.

Hidan's grin grew deeper, as he looked into Sakura's eyes again. Her eyes were daring him to touch her further.

"Oh..you don't like this?" He stroked her cheek once more. "Or this?" His hand slowly traveled down her neck. Sakura's whole body tensed.

Sakura brought up her leg, kneeing the Akatsuki member in the gut. She brought up her hand and slapped him in the face. Sakura immediately took the opportunity to run. She was in no shape to fight, her body screamed at her for rest. She kept running, but found herself colliding with something hard. It was Hidan's body.

His hand immediately came out and slapped her across the face. Sakura's head moved a full one hundred-eighty degrees, from the impact of the blow. Her pink hair fell messily over her face. Her lip had been busted from a simple slap. Sakura's emerald orbs, glared up at the figure, her hair still covering most of her face. He grabbed her face again, letting his face inch closer.

"Do that again, and I can't guarantee you'll have that beautiful face any longer." Disgusted,Sakura spit in his face. She found herself consumed with pain as she was punched in the gut. She felt the blood start to drip as her wound reopened yet again. Sakura had not time to react or rest, as Hidan grabbed her by the arm and dragged her through the door. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut in pain.

Sakura opened her eyes, sensing that they were in a very huge room.It was cold.But it was dark, even more dimly lit than the hallway. The torches on various parts of the walls provided little light. Sakura looked around, noticing another cloaked figure standing to the side. Hidan still dragged her into the middle of the room. In front of them, were two sets of two-step stairs. She saw yet another cloaked figure walking towards them. A deep voice rang throughout the room.

"So it is true..It's good to see you again..Sakura-sama." Surprised, Sakura looked to the figure a few yards away. As he stepped into the light, Sakura's eyes widened.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Pakkun stood next to Naruto, who was lying on the ground. The small dog had a troubled look on his face, as he turned his head to look at Kakashi, who was fighting the two Akatsuki by himself.

"Torigato Nendo!"

"Torigato Nendo!"

Kakashi and Deidara moved their hands around in a complicated motion, creating clay and infusing chakra into it at the same time. In a matter of seconds, a bird was created on both sides. They clay-molded figures flew into eachother exploding upon impact.

Kakashi's sharingan eye caught the movement of a tree behind him. He flipped to the side, managing to dodge a powerful swing by the thorned tree branch. Zetsu merged out of the tree, and stood next to Deidara.

Kakashi was breathing a little harder than usual. They had been in battle for quite some time now, he had been managing to keep up with them. But not for long.

"So you're the Copy Ninja Kakashi. We've heard about you.."Deidara looked to Kakashi's left eye. He smirked. "Ah..I see. That eye of yours, it's just like Itachi's.Yeah? You've kept up with us this long, how about this?"

Kakashi looked behind him to see a claymold in the form of a snake. He had no time to escape as the snake wrapped itself around him tightly. His eyes widened.

"Bye Bye Kakashi." Deidara snapped his fingers, and the snake immediately exploded. Deidara smirked, waiting for the smoke to subside. When it did, all that was littered across the ground were splinters of wood.

"A replacement technique!Seriously?" Deidara sensed a small amount of chakra behind him, and spun around to see a clay molded snake, jumping towards him. It exploded before making contact with him, only allowing the Akatsuki member to guard against it. The explosion singed his arm a little bit.

"Kuso! That hurt! You've done it now, Kakashi!" Deidara and Zetsu both sprinted towards Kakashi. Kakashi ducked to avoid getting his head bit off by Zetzu's flytrap. He quickly took out a kunai and brought it up to meet Deidara's kunai. Kakashi wasn't able to dodge the venus flytrap-like extensions from Zetsu. They were used more like bats, as they collided with Kakashi. Sending him flying into a tree.

Pakkun watched anxiously as Kakashi was sent flying into the tree. He watched as Kakashi copied more of the Akatsuki members techniques, using it against them. But Kakashi would not last long. He was getting more and more hurt, not dealing very much damage to them. Pakkun's eyes darted to Naruto when he saw him twitch out of the corner of his eye.

All of a sudden blue chakra burst all around Naruto. He twitched more, finally turning onto his stomach. He brought his hands underneath him, and slowly pushed himself off the ground. His eyes were still unfocused, but they were staring in the direction of Kakashi and Deidara.

"Where is his chakra coming from?" Pakkun exclaimed to himself. This was not the Kyuubi's chakra. But then, where was it coming from? Naruto?

Kakashi was down on one knee, breathing heavily and eyeing Deidara. The Akatsuki member was about to make some handseals until he sensed a huge amount of chakra.

Kakashi's head snapped into the direction where he left Pakkun and Naruto. The source where the chakra was coming from. His eyes widened as he saw Naruto standing up, looking in their direction.

"What..is this?" The silver haired jounin muttered.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura looked straight into emerald orbs. Most of his hair hung loosely around his face, cut to rest slightly above his chin. The rest of hisemerald hair was held together in a tight ponytail, the hair reaching to his lower back.

**Flashback**

Euphoria is what it looked like. Beautiful forest, surrounded a hidden sanctuary. A hidden Village, it's whereabouts not known to anyone, but the people which resided in it. Waterfalls provided a fresh supply of water, streams glistened in the sunlight as fish flopped in and out of its depths. Animals scurried everywhere, part of the Nature. Part of this beautiful haven. It was only a part of something greater, something important, and something hidden.

**End Flashback**

**Flashback**

It was night time, but the moon wasn't the only thing that lit up the sky. Flames surrounded the whole area.

A scared little girl with pink hair and green eyes was thrown to the stone paved ground. Tears were running down her face and her mouth opened in constant screams as she watched countless people move in front of her, trying to protect her.

She was covered in blood, but it wasn't her blood.

In a spilt second it was all gone., engulfed in endless flames. Among those flames a face appeared in Sakura's mind.Pink eyes mocked her, laughing amongst the flames.

**End Flashback**

With those images came a name, and a sense of familiarity with it.

"…K-Koizumi-kun."

"Oh..So you remember me Sakura-sama?"

_Sama?_

Sakura didn't know what those flashbacks were, or how this man knew her name, or how she even knew his. It just strained her head even more when she tried to connect it all.

"Judging by the look in your eyes you don't remember..Has it really been so long as for you to forget?"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope that wasn't confusing! Hopefully the next chapter will make it all clear. I don't know if i should push this chapter forward, as in make another chapter, and put it before this one. I'm not sure if i put enough Ita/Saku. Because after this chapter, it doesn't leave much time for that. So i dunno. Depends on what you readers think of this chapter!**


	20. Chap 19: Past Revelations

**A/N**: Thanks for the Reviews, thanks to them I got great ideas, and I'm very happy about it. Hence, this early update!This is my gift to you!

**Warnings**: This chapter is basically flashing back to years before when Sakura was little, a time where she wasn't in Konoha yet. The beginning of the next chapter might also be showing a bit of the past but more than half of it will be back in the present. I thought it would be a good idea to tell Sakura's and Koizumi's story?

**Important Info**: In my story, Before Sakura came to Konoha, she lived in a village with her clan, that she had forgotten about due to a huge trauma. So this was all before she found herself in Konoha. The Haruno clan hadn't been in contact with many other clans, they were more secluded, liking the Nature. They were also the most powerful clan, they surpassed the Uchiha Clan, but no one knew about it since they kept to themselves deep in the forest where no one goes.

Again, the leader has nothing to do with who he is in the anime/manga. Even who i think he is in the anime/manga. So don't imagine that hella deep and ugly voice speaking lol.

**Disclaimer**: Umm...If i owned the Naruto series...THERE WOULDN'T BE SO MUCH FILLER EPISODES! jeeez...how many filler episodes is that? About 50? WOW.

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 19: Past Revelations: Radiant Garden's Story.**

(o)

(o)

(o)

The rays from the sun hanging high in the sky shone through various parts of the trees standing place near the edge of a very large forest. It sparkled the two seperate flowing rivers on either side of its span, and as the crystalline water currents reached a large cliff, they spilled down as waterfalls, into a very large, circular valley, its mountaneous cliffs growing with a vegetation of hanging leafs and strongly rooted trees. The drowing sound of the spilling waterfalls did nothing to drown out the nosy chatter and cheerful noises that could be heard along the busy streets of a village that was resting at the bottom of the valley. Its streets were paved with various beautiful stones and rocks. In on one spot was there an adsence of well cared for vegetation. Flowers, plants.

The Hidden Village of Radiant Garden.

Many of the people adorning its street bore a symbol on their clothing, a white-non filled circle; simple in its elegance.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Along a certain busy street a little figure could be seen moving through the crowd at a very fast pace.

"Koizumi-kun! Koizumi-kun!" A small girl at the age of eleven could be seen running through the crowds of the busy steet, a bright smile plastered on her face. She had long, pink hair flowing behind her, styled elegantly in a ponytail-hair down.The pins and clips looked to be madefrom the finest resouces. The long and elegant dress of white color she wore did nothing to impede her speed as she ran through the streets,h er emerald orbs glimmering with adoration as her gaze honed in a the certain back of an individual traveling in his lonesome.

The person, in which she had been trying so hard to get the attention of, slowed down to a halt as he looked behind him at the call of his name; he was very handsome, his chiseled face bearing a look of curiosity and wonder as to who had called him; the short part of his light jade-colored hair hung around his face, framing it as the rest was held back in ponytail at the base of his neck, its lenghts reaching the the middle of his back. His emerald green orbs shined with the glare of the sun as they scanned the area, slightly squinting as they seemed to focus on the little person running towards him though the busy street. A smile small graced his lips.

"Well if it isn't my favorite girl!" He bent down into a crouching position, letting out a small laugh as she ran into him, the force of her speed causing her to pummel into him, his body the only source of halt for her. When she stepped away to gain her balance, he let his hands rest in between his bent legs as his gentle emerald eyes looked up her beaming emerald, her height above his as he remained crouched. "How are you today?" His voice was very soft and gentle.

"I'm good!" She chirped.

"That's what I like to hear." He watched as her smile grew even bigger.

"How do I look?" She inquired, grabbing onto her dress, the motion making it slightly ruffle, as its long tressed puffed out on either side of her. Koizumi brought his hand in front of him and moved his index finger in a circular motion; in response the girl grabbed each side of her dress, in a ladyish way, twirling around a few times. When she finished, she curtsied, bringing her head up to give Koizumi her biggest smile.

"There's no other girl in this world to rival, Sakura-sama." He complimented genuinely. She didn't notice the way his face changed, he seemed awed, yet sad at the same time. For some reason a childish frown appeared on the girl's face. She crossed her arms and let out a little puff, pouting. She looked cute the way her lower lip puffed out.

"You really should stop calling me that! Everyone around here does.. I don't like it."

"Well you're the most important little lady here, Sakura-sama. Besides, it's suits such a beautiful girl.." He gave her a big smile, his eyes closing in the process. Hearing the suffix at the end of her name again, the little girl huffed again, spinning around in the opposite direction to let him gaze at her back in a surprised amusement. Koizumi let out a hearty laugh.

"Aww, come on, don't be like that Sakura-sama!" He chuckled more. He clasped his hands together as as he grinned at her back. "Say what, I'll make a deal with you.." sakura only let out another small huff as she crossed her arms.His eyes reflected thoughtfulness as he purposefully let out a small hum as he pondered in thought loud enough for Sakua to hear. His hands remained clasped together as his gaze transitioned upwards even more so as he contemplated. He slightly nodded his head.

His eyes sparkled with softness as he gently placed his hands on her shoulder, lightly turning her to face him. She didn't resist at all whatsoever, though her eyes still pouted as she waited for his offer.

"Whenever we're alone, I'll call you only by your name..no "sama"." Her eyes lit up, though she remained quiet, removing her arms from their crossed position as she waited for him to continue, as it seemed he were to say more. Koizumi brought a hand up to his face, letting a finger lightly tap his chin in continuous rythm as he let his eyes travel upwards again, a light and amused expression on his face. "Aaand I guess I'll have a talk with the Sakekage and see about us making a day where everyone is to call you only by your name.." His voice was light and playful as well. He let his playful, yet genuine eyes travel back to hers. "Would you like that?"

"Would you really do that?!"She exclaimed. Her smile grew bigger as she saw him nod.

"I love nothing more than seeing you smile. I'll make sure it happens, I promise."

"You're the best, Koizumi-kun!" She excitedly moved into his arms, hugging him breifly before planting a light kiss on his cheek. She then backed up, clasping her hands behind her, a blush on her cheeks as she bashfully looked up to him. She had caught him off guard as he had a slight taken back look about it. When a small, giddy smile started to curve the end of his lips, he was interupted as he looked to the group of men coming towards them.

They didn't look like the rest of the people, their apparel was completley different. Crowds dispersed, making way as they passed through them, whispered chatter breaking out.

"Koizumi-san?" One of the men in the group spoke out, his voice deep and stern. Their eyes reflected only a small note in gretting, no more. A serious expression crossed the young man's face as he looked up to them, his gaze stern as he looked up to them from his crouched position. The men looked to Sakura, and Koizumi followed their gazes, watching as they gave Sakaura a small smile.

The wary look never left her eyes, even as she gave them a small smile.

Koizumi purposefully let out a loud release of breath, resembling a cheerful sigh as he placed his hands on his knees, preparing to get up. Cheerfulness replaced the stern.

"Well, Sakura-sama, I must be on my way, I have a very important mission." Sakura watched him stand up to his full height before taking a few steps away from her. "Oh, and I heard Mira-san was looking for you. " He gave her an amused smile. "You shouldn't keep worrying her. Give her a break every now and then ok?"

Every now and then? It sounded like he wasn't gonna be here for a long while.

She didn't know the importance of missions, but something about those men unnerved her. She had never seen them before, and they looked too serious. Her whole life she had never seen outsiders. And now Koizumi was leaving with them somewhere. It didn't feel right. She couldn't help it as tears sparkled in her eyes as she watched them start to walk away. They didn't fall yet.

Something didn't feel right.

She bowed her head down, clenching her fists as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears.

"Sakura-san" Her head shot up to his gentle call, eyes slightly suprised to see he had stopped in his walking, his head looking back over his shoulder at her. What surprised her was that he had called her name without formality in front of others. A pondering smile traveled to his face at how it sounded coming from him. "I like that," However gentle his face was, a more meaningful expresson took place. "Not as much as I love seeing you smile..can you continue to smile for me?"

Her eyes watered even more as he said this. She tried to bring a smile to her face, but instead her lips pursed together as she looked to him. Even more so when she noticed his facial expression slump as his head slightly, in a sort of sadness as he noticed her about to cry again.

"Koizumi-san. There's no time." He glanced to the men before returning his gaze to Sakura.

"When I get back, it'd be a great honor if I was greeted with your smile." He said this meaninfully, giving her a small defeated smile before turning to walk away.

She took a small breath before blinking her tears away.

"Koizumi-kun!" She didn't check to make sure he had stopped to look at her, she put the biggest smile on her face that she could, letting her lips reach from ear to ear, her eyes closed with a sort of glee. After a small moment she finally opened her eyes to look at Koizumi, his eyes soft and seemingly grateful as a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.

"That's what I like to see." He said softly before continuing his way.

She watched them until they were out of sight, crowds continued to disperse from them, taking a few moments to fill the gaps, resuming the usual chatter. Though it wasn't the same, they were almost hushed, seemingly unnerved by those men.

She took a big breath before turning on her heels and walking up the same street she had ran down..it curved up in a sort of spiral as it weeved through the village. Everywhere she went she was greeted with the usual "Sakura-sama". She would reply with a small smile and curtsy.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Her figure was defeated as she continued to walk, the nosy chatter of all the people almost deafening; it was when she passed a ramen stand did something out of all the chattering catch her ear.

"Koizumi-kun is soo handsome!" Sakura's head snapped to look at two young women, swooning over a certain young man. They didn't seem sober in the least. With Curious eyes, Sakura stayed nearby, listening to their conversation.

"He's really strong.."The other drawled off in thought.

"I tried talking to him once. He's soo nice..but all he said was good morning before he asked me if I had seen little miss princess."

"Is that jealousy I see Hiruka?"

"Well for goodness sake even when he's in the middle of something he drops it just to go talk with her! Even if he can't leave his gaze soo follows her till she's out of sight. That's a little to much don't you think?"

"I think it's kinda cute."

"Yea, for someone who's married you would say that Kinta. Don't get me wrong I love that girl, Sakura-sama's smile brightens up any room, but..he's _always _with her."

"Well he was assigned along with Mira to protect her specifically after her parents died. They wrote that in their will themselves..it was almost inevitable he'd get feelings for such a beautiful girl, being around her all the time..that is, if he thinks of her that way as you say.."

"Do you see how his eyes light up whenever he sees her?It seems to me he's taking that protection a little to far...if it wasn't for the age difference I'd bet he had a thing for her!"

"Who says he doesn't? He's only four years older than her...though thirteen and seventeen, I guess this young it might be too large a gap. Though look at Sakura-sama's parents."

"Goodness you're right. I mean her father was eleven years older than her mother..that didn't stop them."

"Love is love."

"I guess so..Well..I heard that Koizumi was going out on a mission today, won't be back a week at the earliest. It'll be the first time our clan has actually talked in person to outsiders, won't it? I hear it's important. The other clan was…the Sound I believe?"

"Hm, for some reason I think something bad is going to happen…"

Sakura's emerald eyes wavered in direction of the ground for a moment, taking in everything she had just heard. In her daze she walked off, breifly looking at the sun as it began to set with its clashing colors before walking along the streets once again.

She couldn't help but notice another set of nosy chatter, this time coming from a small group of men in the tavern.

"No, seriously, I've been thinking about it. That other clan has called all of our best ninja's. Why would they need to do that? Aren't they just making an agreement?"

"You're overthinking things, seriously give it up." Another man mocked. He looked rugged, letting his bushy hair fall all about his face.

"No, he has a point. Having all our best ninja's depart leaves Radiant Garden in jeopardy." Another man spoke up. The man who he had agreed with spoke up again.

"Exactly. And Koizumi, he's the strongest of us all, without him, no matter what ninja's we have here, this village will go down fast. I have a feeling Radiant Garden is no longer as safe as it used to be."

"I have the feeling something bad is going to happen.."

That's the same thing those women had said earlier. They thought something bad was going to happen. Radiant Garden was no longer safe? And Koizumi-kun, was something bad going to happen to him?

"Sakura-sama!" Sakura looked up to see a person jogging in her direction. She already knew who it was. "There you are!..Don't ever run off like that again!" Sakura closed on eyes letting a huge smile make it's way to her face. She let her tongue stick out as well. She looked adorable.

"Sorry, Mira-chan!" A woman with light green hair made her way towards Sakura. Her relieved emerald eyes, looked into Sakura's playful ones.

"We have to get ready for our banquet! Hurry, it will be evening soon!"

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

"Sakura-sama! Come back!"She made no indignation as to hearing Mira's call, her small legs continued to carry her as she sprinting through the same street she had the other, only this time there wasn't crowds of people doing everyday things with light-hearted chatter. People were scattering, running as well, there were bodies littering the ground.

Chaos.

Flames acted as the backround to all the collapsed buildings and decimated stone-cobbled streets. They provided a slight like to the otherwise starless, opaque night scan. Screaming and hollaring, battle cries acted as the deafening background noise.

Tears acting as a cleaning to the blood splattered all over her face and clothes. It wasn't hers. As her tears grew in amount she squeezed her eyes shut as she lowed her head, continuing to run; the tears flew behind her in a pattern-like trail.

**Flashback**

It was the first time she had ever seen anyone that wasn't from the Haruno clan. He had a thing that she remembered was called a forehead protector. It had a strange symbol on it, it looked like a note, one you would see on a musical book. The man was looking at her with scary eyes, vicious eyes.

From her position on the ground, Sakura tried crawling backwards. She let out a little scream as she collided with a body that had been dead long ago. She could hear the flames roaring, becoming bigger.

"Sakura-sama!" The little girl looked up to see a group of villagers run up to her, standing in front of her and the Sound ninja. She saw the two women in which she had listened to their conversation the other day. They ran in front of her, shielding her body with their own.

Sakura watched in horror as the men fought, trying to protect her. The women covering her screamed everytime one of the men were hit. Blood was splattered everywhere. She couldn't move her body, let alone open her mouth to scream. There were more Sound ninja around them now. Countless numbers, all very powerful.

"Please don't kill her! She's just a little girl!" One of the women begged. But the merciless ninja didn't care for her words as he kept advancing on them. The women hugged her tighter, squeezing their eyes shut, waiting for the blow.

Blood splattered all over Sakura's face and clothes, the women who were once owners to the blood fell to each of her sides, lifeless. Her wide eyes traveled to look to one of them, looking as her eyes still remained open, the same as they were before the blade had touched her.

Her heart pounded in her chest as he wide eyes traveled to look at the shinobi walking towards her. She couldn't move, she couldn't cry, she couldn't get over the trepidation that paused all her reaction. She could only watch as the katana-like sword was raised high, ready to come slashing down at her.

She had wanted to see Kozumi-kun. she had wanted to know he was ok, that he had survived the trap he had been led to outside of Radiant Garden. She wanted to see him one last time.

Her eyes squeezed shut, more tears traveling down her face as she awaited her death. she could feel the abrupt chance in the wind as the sword swung down at her.

_Koizumi-kun!_

The clashing of weapons send a large echo throughout the wide streets, its sound resonating louder than the burning flames or the shouts and screams of people.

Her eyes shot open, widening as she looked at the person standing in front of her. His long emerald colored hair flew out behind him, the only constraint the tie that held it in a ponytail, it continued to rise and fall as a small silence ensued; the only noise was the distant, backround noise coming from the rest of the village.

His once emerald eyes were glowing a bright pink as he sternly held gazes with the one he had clashed with, a simple kunai at his use. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead, and long, deep, ragged breaths moved his chest in and out through his forcingly calm breathing.He must have just arrived in Radiant garden, and he looked to be wounded, as if he had to fight before he could have made his way back to the village.

The blood dripping to the ground before him proved that.

Letting out a barely discernable grunt, he knocked the shinobi off balance before stabbing his own kunai into the mans' head. He fell to the ground immediately. No time transpired before more of the Sound shinobi surrounding rushed towards him. And he took them on.

She zone out as her emerald eyes stared blankly in front of her, every once and a while she would she pink chakra explosion, hear the many different noises of the battle which ensued. Soon..all that drowned out, all she could start to hear was her own heart beating, her own slow, shakey breaths.

She didn't know how much time went by before she snapped out of it, her wide eyes looking up to Koizumi as she slowly crouched in front of her.

"Sakura-san." Her eyes widened even more if possible, as he called her by her name. No "sama". "Are you hurt?" She looked up to her face from her position on the ground, observing how he smiled to her gently, even with the taught lines etched in his face, signifying he was in pain. Exhaustion clouded his eyes at the same time softness adorned them.

Her lower lip started to quiver as she looked at him, tears filling her eyes once again. Her only smile at her more as he let his arms rest in between his legs. It was then that she jumped into his arms, letting a few sobs out into his chest. She felt him return the hug as he rested his head on top of hers. She didn't notice the way his facial expression turned to that of a serous one, a furious one as he looked around.

"Sakura-sama!Oh thank kami-sama!" Both their eyes transitioned to the distance, trying to see past the smoke lingering in the air to a woman running towards them. When she was closer her features distinguished her as Mira, the woman who had taken care of her for years now, since the death of her parents.

Koizumi lifted up his head as she neared, crouching down in front of them. Sakura only glanced to her before buried her face into Koizumi's chest, it only made him wrap his arms around her tighter.

"Is she okay?" Koizumi nodded, taking a long look at Sakura as Mira brought her hand to stroke the young girl's hair. "Can you take her away from here?"

"O-Of course. But where, there's no way for us to go."

"Konoha." He started, his face stern. "It's not far- I don't know how the people are there, but I know their not anything like these guys.."His words were sounded by a tone of distaste as he spoke of the ones attacking their villge. "East from here. That's the only direction you have to travel. I don't know how long it will take, but you have to get out of here now."

"No." She muttered quietly. She could hear all the screams around them, feel the heat of the fire threatening to burn them alive. She felt safe with Koizumi, even if they weren't safe. She had buried her body into him more, though froze when he couldn't help but let out a small grunt of pain as he closed his eyes.

"Koizumi-kun, are you okay?" Mira-chan's worried voice sounded their ears as Sakura slowly leaned away, her emerald eyes looking down to his bleeding abdomen; some of his blood has stained the exact spot parellel to his on her dirtied dress.

"Sakura-san.." The little girl looked up into Koizumi's pink eyes."Please go with Mira-san to safety."

"Not without you!" Sakura tried to persuade him.

"It's my duty to protect Radiant Garden. I can't abandon this village."

"Then let me stay with you! Please don't abandon me!"Koizumi smiled and gently grabbed Sakura's face with both of his hands.

"I won't abandon you, Sakura-san.. Please believe me, we will see each other again." As soon as he stood up fully, he took one last glance at Sakura before running in the other direction, disappearing in the flames.

**End Flashback**

He was still here, she knew he was. She was headed in the right direction. She had to be. She could hear the clashing of weapons in the distance. The more she ran, the closer it sounded. She would be there soon.

"Please Koizumi-kun! Don't die! " Sakura's little body managed to run even faster. Her legs moving faster and faster. She could see figures in the distance now. One she was able to recognize immediately. He was up against hundreds of intruders that stretched out as far as she could see. He was in horrible condition, he was losing a lot of blood and he looked exhausted. He wouldn't be able to continue much longer.

"Koizumi-kun!" She saw his head snap in her direction, his eyes greatly widening in surprise. He was about to make his way over to her, but suddenly a jolt of unbearable pain ran through him. He fell down to one knee. Tears in her eyes, Sakura kept running towards him, never taking her eyes off him. She saw as he looked to the side, eyes wide, at something that was coming towards her. Sakura's eyes traveled to where Koizumi was looking at. Her eyes widened.

It all seemed to go in slow motion as Sakura's body was still running motion. All she could do was turn her head to the side as the ninja came at her. At the last moment, Sakura saw a body appear in front of her. It was Koizumi. She had no time to scream his name. The sword went right through him. Some of Koizumi's blood splattered onto Sakura's face. The young man still stood his ground, letting out a grunt of pain as he spit out blood.

The Sound ninja took his sword out of Koizumi's body, letting out an amused grunt. Koizumi fell backwards.

"Koizumi-kun!" Sakura tried to catch him, but her small body couldn't support his weight. They both fell to the ground, but Sakura sheltered his head on her knees, preventing it from hitting the hard ground. He winced in pain from the impact with the ground, a small stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Koizumi-kun!" Sakura kept calling his name, hoping he would hear her. He had to. "Don't you die, Koizumi-kun! You can't leave me all alone! Don't leave me!Please!" She looked at his injuries, there were many. A small puddle of blood was steadily forming underneath them. "Oh God!" Sakura thought back to things she had learned to stop blood flow. The little girl grabbed the bottom of her dress, and using her teeth, ripped a huge chunk off. It took her a while to wrap it all the way around Koizumi, her small body also came with short arms. She saw him wince in pain as she tightened it. She was now at his side.

Sakura let out sob as she saw his eyes slowly open, looking up at her. "Sakura..sama..please get away from here."

"Don't call me that! And I'm not gonna leave you, Koizumi-kun!Please…please be okay.." Sakura grabbed onto the young man, crying into his chest. She lifted her head up, and tried to put pressure on his wound, but she had little weight to do that.

"Sakura-san…I'm sorry." The little girl didn't answer him, she didn't want to look into his eyes, to see that saddened look. That's how all these people looked when they died, she didn't want to see it. She kept trying over and over again to keep applying pressure. But the blood kept pouring out. Sakura kept on sobbing, her face covered in tears. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying and trying to put all her weight onto the wound. Her breaths became labored gasps, as she still tried to contain her sobs. She kept wishing for his wounds to hill, for somethingm anything, to save Koizumi.

She didn't pay any mind to the sudden tingling sensation that vibrated through her hands, nor the strange warmth that surrounded her eyes. She was only concerned with trying to save the one person who mattered to her most since her parents died. She couldn't let him die too.

His eyes had opened once again, looking on at Sakura in astonishment. He felt that tingling sensation on his abdomen, where her hands were placed, and he knew that sensation all to well.

He looked at her hands to see them glowing a bright pink, so was his wound. There was no way a girl her age could heal to this level, let alone heal at all.

"Sakura-san…" The little girl opened her tear filled eyes, and looked at him, proving the fact further. He wasn't looking into deep emerald eyes, instead he was gazing into glowing, pink eyes. Ones like his. He was the only one in the clan, the whole history of the Haruno clan who could activate the Shiyuki. Sakura was the second.

This girl..was the future of this clan.

"We can't let you do that girl!" The Sound ninja mocked with his deep voice. He made his way towards the couple, attempting to grab Sakura's small arm, pulling her away.

"No.." Sakura muttered. When it looked like the sound ninja made contact with Sakura's body, a pink chakra barrier appeared where he touched her. It sent him flying a few feet away. The little girl was still for a moment. After a few seconds she slowly turned her small head to look at the Sound ninja's all around them. They were circling them as far as she could see. She brought her head back down for a few more seconds, before slowly standing up. You could see where she had torn the large piece of her dress.

Koizumi looked up at her, surprised.

_This chakra.._

"Nice show, you little brat! What's a little girl like you gonna do!" All the Sound ninja's laughed.

"You will pay.." The little girl muttered. She didn't know that she had practically healed his most critical wound. She beleived him to still be dying.But, she could feel this..chakra..swelling up inside of her. She stood still for a moment. Suddenly, her head snapped to the man that had stabbed his sword through Koizumi. Her eyes were glowing even brighter.

"You will pay for what you did to Koizumi-kun!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**I hope you liked it!Again, your reveiws gave me this totallly awesome idea! I'm so happy! squeals. Thankyou all for your support! Another chapter will be out within this week. I'm so motivated! Hehe! Be prepared for some juicy action next chapter, with the whole Itachi, Sasuke, and leader thingmaggiger!**


	21. Chap 20: Past Revelations II

**A/N**: Thanks for the Reviews! Hehe I spent all day working on this chapter, well more like5ush hours, but same diff. The important thing is..It's a fast update!

**Warnings: **The part with Koizumi actually ended up taking more space than I had thought, sorry about that!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series…you would know lol.

**Enjoy!**

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 20: Past Revelations ****Pt. II : A Closing to the Story of Radiant Garden! **

**Sakura's Decision?**

(o)

(o)

(o)

A pink layer of chakra surrouned her body like a second layer of skin, its amount also creating a small translucent circle underneath her. Her locks and pink hair and and the tressess of her elegant, yet dirtily ruined white dress were greatly dancing in the wind being created by the force of her energy. Emerald and pink fought for superiority color in her eyes, the battle constantly switching the shades of her eyes, and as her chakra level steadily increased, pink took over, glowing vibrantly in the fire-lighted night sky.

"What the hell?" All of the Sound ninja had their arms up, trying to stand against the wind.

Koizumi had slightly lifted his head off the ground, looking ahead at the amazing chakra show.

"This is ridiculous! Men, attack!" All of the sound charged, not only towards Sakura, but to Koizumi as well. But when it looked like they made contact with the younger man, a pink chakra barrier appeared, knocking them a few feet away, and burning them in the process. Koizumi was surprised as he looked all around him. The fires all around were slowly being covered by pink chakra, immediately dissapearing. Sakura was doing all of this…was there no limit to her chakra?

Sakura looked at all the hundreds of men advancing on her. She let out a battle cry, using the sheer force of her chakra to push them away. Immediately she closed her eyes. A pink circle of chakra appeared on the ground around her, flaring around her as it spinned. She started spinning slowly, gracefully, it was an amazing sight. She crossed her arms against her chest as she spun.

The little girl started spinning a little faster. She slowly stuck her arms out in front of her, intertwining them. The chakra circle under her started creating Sakura petals. They spun along with her. After a while she lifted her arms above her, reaching up to the heavens. She kept them intertwined. One hand rose a little higher than the other as she opened her palm up.

A strange beaming noise could be heard as staticky lights appeared near her hand, shooting straight to the center of her palm. It started creating a pinkish-red chakra ball, Sakura petals were flaring around with it, a part of the chakra ball. It was getting bigger by the second. As it reached it's peak, the ball stopped forming and just spun with the Sakura petals in her hand. She instantly stopped spinning, her eyes shooting open. She looked graceful, beautiful but deadly as her eyes shot open, training themselves on the Sound ninja ahead of her. The chakra below her, along with the wind and everything else dispersed as she stopped.

Her Shiyuki eyes were trained on the man who had stabbed the sword through Koizumi. He was a little ahead of the group, standing in the middle. Sakura brought her hand down to her right side, using her other hand to support the arm. With amazing speed, she advanced on the Sound ninja. She was too fast for him to react. Letting out a battle cry, Sakura shot her arm forward making contact with the Sound ninja. As soon as it did a huge explosion of chakra was created. It started right where Sakura's fist was, flaring out around the whole group of Sound ninja.

When the explosion died out, and the smoke subsided, all that could be seen was a barren land. There wasn't a single soul left alive. The little girl stood in the same position, her arm out in front of her, breathing heavily. Her eyes switched back to their normal emerald color. As soon as it did, Sakura's eyelids closed, and her little body began to fall to the ground.

Koizumi was there to catch her.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep.

The sound of light beeping filled the little girl's ears. It wasn't loud, it was rather lulling actually, but all the little girl was thinking was, it wouldn't stop. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked around the room. Her view was blurry, hazy. She had to keep blinking her eyes slowly to clear the blurriness. She did not feel good at all. She was exhausted, sore, the whole package.

_Where was she?_

The pink-haired girl looked around the room. White walls, white tiled floors that looked like they had been polished. She observed the open windows that caused curtains to flow gently with the wind. She observed a table standing next to her, adorned with flowers. She looked down noticing the IV that was attached from her wrist. It led to a bag of fluids just above her. She was in a Hospital.

"It's been two weeks.. are you sure she's ok?." The little girl heard whispered chatter. She opened her eyes again to see three figures standing at the foot of the bed she was lying on. One was a woman, she had light green hair, and emerald eyes. The other figure was another woman, she seemed to be wearing a Nurse outfit.

The other figure was a man, he looked very young. Maybe around the age of Seventeen. He had long emerald hair that was tied back in a ponytail. The color of his eyes were weird. They were pink. She felt a blush rising to her cheeks as she saw him. He was very handsome. Yet he was very quiet, it was only the two women who were speaking.

"She'll be fine after a little more rest…although I'm afraid there might be some memory loss..be careful, don't try and force her to remember. If that trauma is as bad as you say it is… it'd be best for her not to remember...If you choose to stay in Konoha, a place can be set up for you. Have a nice day Mrs.Mira-san." The Nurse spoke. She nodded to the man as well, but he said nothing.The other woman nodded quickly, it looked as if she was about to cry. She watched as the Nurse exited the room.

She didn't recognize either of them. Who were they? And where was she? She saw as both their eyes traveled to her small form. She shut her eyes immediately, pretending she was still asleep.

"Do you really have to go? She'll be heartbroken..you know that..Stay a little longer, let these people treat your wounds..Konoha seems like a good place." The woman was trying to make that young man stay..Were they talking about her?

"I can't, I have to find them, make sure they are all gone. I don't care how many there are, I will kill them all." Sakura peeked her eyes open to look at the younger man. His eyes were flashing. He held such anger, such hurt. Determination and regret were in his eyes. He wanted revenge.

"We can just rebuild Radiant Garden!If not, Konoha seems like a great place,please don't leave!"

"…They call themselves shinobi, preying on the weak, hurting those who do nothing to them. Those Sound don't deserve to live." His voice was calm, the little girl figured he wasn't the type who yelled or got any easily. Even though he seemed furious now. She watched as the woman's eyes widened.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you acting so strange!" She couldn't contain her voice any longer. The man was starting to scare her.

"They don't deserve to be forgiven. What they've done to Radiant Garden..Sakura-."

"What about Sakura-sama!..What about Sakura-sama! Are you taking her feelings into consideration!" The woman yelled.

"Don't call her that." The young man cut her off. His voice was cold and stern. "Her name is Sakura, she doesn't like that formality." Sakura closed her eyes again as she saw the man look in her direction. She could hear his light footsteps, and feel his body heat and he got close to her.

"Be a good girl, Sakura-san. We will meet again, I promise." For some reason Sakura felt sad, extremely sad, she did her best to look as if she was still sleeping. It was hard to do so when she felt the warm touch of his lips on her forehead. She felt something else as well, it was wet. She was shocked when she realized what it was. Tears. Was he crying?

She didn't even know him, yet, she felt like crying. She couldn't stop the lone tear that fell from her closed eye. She felt him pause as he must have seen that tear. She felt him use a hand to wipe her tear away.

"We will meet again, I promise." With that she felt his body heat leave her, she felt extremely cold now. When she heard the small clicking of the closed door Sakura opened her eyes. The woman was on the ground now, crying. It was then that Sakura found herself wanting to cry even more. This unbearable pain wouldn't leave her. She felt like she had just lost something. Lost a piece of her. Why did she feel this way? The little girl, Sakura, couldn't help from crying. She bawled her eyes out.

A name unconsciously came to her mind.

_Koizumi-kun_

**End Of Radiant Garden's Story**

"Koizumi-kun.." Her wide emerald eyes started to glimmer with the sparkle of tears, however they did not fall. A rising sickeness started to situation in her stomach as the impending threat of suffocation labored her slow breaths.

How could she have forgotten? Her childhood, her clan.

Him.

The man in front of her. He was Haruno Koizumi - the man she had considered her life, her joy. Her idle; her hero.

Now, he was the leader of the Akatsuki.

"So you remember." His monotone voice interupted her thoughts. "I apologize if the memory came all to suddenly."

"Koizumi-kun-."

"I have something important to discuss with you, that is why I called you here." Her eyes slightly twitched in surprise as he cut her off; she was surprised at how lightly he had taken their reunion - this was the first time they had talked in years - the first time she remembered him in her life. She remained quiet, paying no heed to Hidan as he continued to hold her arm, causing it to hang from his grasp in an upward position as she remained on the ground.

"You and I.. are the only ones, from our whole clan who can use the Shiyuki, our bloodlimit. You, however, were able to use it at such a young age. The first time I witnessed it was back in Radiant Garden, do you recall?" Sakura let her eyes waver amidst the ground.

"..I-I don't know what happened..I remember..I had no control over my feelings..or actions..but it's all blank."

"That night..at the age oftwelve, you comepletley obliterated an army ofshinobi.You unconsciously activated the Shiyuki. You healed a wound that couldn't possibly be healed, certainly not by a girl of your age."His voice still remained emotionless."You are special, Sakura. You have amazing powers, hiding under the surface, limitless…if only you could tap into it."

Sakura's eyes widened at the newfound information. "It can't be..I'm weak.."

"Have you ever had moments where you've had completely no idea how you survived? Do you remember what happened after wards? After you woke up?" Her eyes continued to waver as she looked at him, her mind writing an affirmative. "Did you really believe that all the times you won battles were from luck? From any others who may have been there to help you?"

"How come I can't-."

"How come you can't use this power? It's quite simple. You know not how to use it. Your body certainly isn't in tune or able wo withstand the strain, nothing conditioning and training can't reverse." The way he continued to speak, so coldly, factually, it was like he was a completley different person from the man she remembered. "I could teach you, Sakura-sama. It would be both beneficial to you and I"

A breif silence ensued as Sakura lowered her head to the ground, obscuring her face from view.

Something wasn't right. The sick, feeling of dread never left the pit of her stomach, only escalated. Koizumi..he seemed different..everything, it was all different, all..wrong. She didn't feel the joy that she ought to have felt. She didn't feel like hugging this man, telling him how much she missed him, how she wanted to catch up. Was this the same man who she had once considered her entire life? The man from her memories? Her idle? Could he still be called that?

No. He was a complete stranger.

He was the leader of the Akatsuki, a criminal organization consisting of the countries' top S-class criminals- all defineable in the bingo book.

"What happened to you.." Her inaudible whisper was only discernable to herself as continued to dwell on the situation before her. What had happened to him? What series of events led him to turn out like this? What happened as to make him totally disregard life as he did? Lose that light in his eyes, that tender tone to his voice?

She finally brought her head up, her sorrowful emerald orbs transitioning to meet his. There was a sort of resolvment withing her gaze.

"Your not Koizumi…" Her voice was quiet, loud enough for him to hear.

"I can guarantee this is me, Sakura-san." He made sure to enunciate the name clearly. "Did I not tell you we would meet again?"

_**Sakura-san, we will meet again, I promise."** _

She let her face obscure from view once again.

This wasn't Koizumi. This wasn't the man who she had sworn she couldn't live without. This was not the man she had known all those years ago. The warm, joyous man. The one who loved everything, loved her. The one who would do anything to protect her, to protect life..even her feelings. The handsome, brave, loyal, heroic man.

**Image One**

Koizumi had his eyes closed as he was in the motion of laughing. Sakura had splashed him with water from the river, the crystakkube sprinkles of water having yet made contact with his face. Little Sakura was laughing too, her eyes wide with happiness as she looked at him.

**Image Two**

Sakura was being held high in the air by Koizumi, her arms outspread like an airplane. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement. Koizumi was smiling, the warmest of smiles.

**Image Three**

The sparks could still be seen from the moment that Koizumi's kunai had clashed with a Sound shinobi, his emerald eyes stern and serious as he glared into the opposing man's eyes. The differentiating lights of the flames surrounding them lighted up their skin, created an certain redish hue, complemented by the rays of moonlight and darkness of the night sky. Behind him, on the ground, emerald eyes wide in shock sat Sakura, her body covered in blood.

**Image Four**

Koizumi's eyes were slightly open wide in surprise. Sakura's eyes were closed, her lips planted on his lips in a kiss. She was blushing wildly.

**Image Five**

Koizumi had his eyes closed, as his lips were planted on Sakura's forehead. A stray tear from his closed eye had just touched Sakura's forehead. The little girl had her eyes closed, she looked to be sleeping. A lone tear had made it's way halfway down her face.

Her hands clenched tightly on the ground underneath her.

**Image Six**

Koizumi had turned halfway around to give Sakura one last look before he left. His eyes were closed happily and the most beautiful smile graced his lips. A few leaves from a tree nearby had just passed his face. The light from the sun was lighting up his features. It was an amazing sight.

It was then that the first tear fell to the ground.

"You may look like him.." Her head still hung low as her calm, yet wavering voice sounded the silent room. "You may even have all of his memories.." She finally brought her head up, her stern, glimmering emerald eyes transitioning to the leader of the Akatsuki.

"But you..are _NOT.._Koizumi-kun." Even as the slight cry sounded in her voice, the stern, underlying tone was heard as she harshly whispered those last words, at a volume loud enough to be heard. There was determinatioin in her gaze at the same time that there was despair; it was obvious the strain taken in an effort to keep her emotions under control- also, the dissapointment cloaked her like a second skin. This man standing a distance in front of her, this cold, indifferent man; the one who no longer held that certain spark in his eyes, who wore that precious smile, he was not Koizumi. The man who loved life, advocated peace. This was not the man she fell in love with as a little girl.

Her gaze fell downcast again.

"Maybe the man I knew..maybe's he still in that void shell..but to me, the Koizumi I knew died a long time ago." As she finished her mutter, her gaze transitioned to meet the imposter's. And it was for that split second upon doing so that she caught a flicker of something amidst his eyes, something that had gone as soon as it had come. Sorrow.

"_Sakura-san, We will meet again, I promise."_

"That day, you lied to me. We haven't met again..we won't meet again.." She clenched her fists on the concrete ground asshe let out a deep breath; however itdid nothing to stop thetears."And I'd rather have you as a memory than have you as a fake."

"I see.." Koizumi started, his voice calm, silent with his reply. It was after his first words that he spoke louder, his tone emotionless. "Then you can treat me as a new aquaintance, with an offer that will greatly benefit you. I can train you, in exhange for your service to the Akatsuki. What is it you decide? Be careful your answer..it is not my intention to keep you alive should you refuse..I cannot take the risk of you becoming a liability to my causes in the future." Her emerald eyes remained on him a moment longer, wavering before falling downcast and to the side in avoidance.

"I want nothing from you.." Her voice was very calm and stern.

"Very well."

As if one que the sounding of the large double doors on the far side of the large, basement-like area echoed throughout the room. All eyes snapped to its direction, fixating on Itachi, who stood at its entrance, his gaze finding them amidst the very large room. All was silent at the Uchiha seemed to assess the sitution, his sharingan eyes transitioning to Sakura and Hidan, who was still holding him arm, and lastly to Koizumi. His gaze then traveled back to Hidan, calm, yet intimidating.

"Release her." The only words spoken to the Akatsuki member. However calm and emotionless he was, when he issued a command, there was no room for inaction. He was not asking in a light manner. It wasn't obvious, his disliking of the situation.

Hidan looked to Koizumi, who nodded his head in affirmation. With a constrained, however audible frustrated grunt, Hidan obeyed, slightly throwing Sakura's arm down; this motion resulted in the already weak kunoichi falling over from her position on the ground, her hands catching the fall of her upper body right before he head made contact. She stayed like that, pink locks of hair splaying all over the ground, completley hiding her face from view as it was positioned parallel to the ground.

Itachi's eyes followed her in her fall, and although his eyes reflected no emotion, the fact that they stayed upon her for a long moment signified he was concerned, and waiting for her to lift her head up; the fact that she didn't signified something was wrong. It was the slight shaking of her shoulders as she seemed to prevent herself from crying that finally transitioned his eyes to Koizumi - on time to his words.

"Itachi, why have you interupted? You know of the consequences to doing such a thing."

"I came for her." His voice was calm as he spoke casually, emotionlessly to the leader of the Akatsuki.

At his words Sakuraslowly pushed her upper body up, defeated, yet slightly suprised emerald orbs transitioning to Itachi. As she held her arms out in front of her to support her weight, the distinct trembling of her arms was easily noticed.

"Oh?" Koizumi started. "I never did ask you, Itachi, why you brought her here- it slipped my mind as I realized who see was. Though now, perhaps it doesn't matter. I want you to kill her, seeing as how you brought on this waste of my time."

There was another small moment of silence.

"I see no reason in killing her."

"I recall I did not ask you for a reason...You wouldn't think to disobey my orders, would you, Uchiha Itachi?" There was another bated silence as Itachi and Koizumi wordlessly fixed their gazes, as if challenging the other.

"No," Itachi started, voice emotionless, demeanor stoic. "I do not follow your orders..therefore I cannot disobey."

Kakuzu appeared next to Hidan, and the two remained alert, as if in expectance of something.

"She will bea threat to this orginization in the future, her survival I cannot allow." Koizumi seemed very much eager to carry out the deed..as if he could change his mind at any moment. "You, will watch then, as someone more capable does so. Interfere and you will be dealt with as an enemy." He finally looked away from Itachi, fixating his gaze on Sakura, who seemed defeated, uncaring for her well-fare.

"Hidan, kill her."

"With pleasure." The said Akatsuki member armed himself with a kunai before casually making his way towards Sakura, a sick gin implanted on his face, eyes lustful with the thought of cutting her.

Sakura looked at the Akatsuki member advancing on her with no trace of fear. She wasn't scared to die. She was more ready to die than she was ready to protect herself- she was lacking in the enery to protect herself, the motivation.She was staring death in the face, and she felt no bit of remorse. Was something wrong with her?

* * *

**Thanks for Reading! I hope ya liked! **

**Yea sorry about the false hope of the whole Itachi, Sasuke thing getting started this chapter, i just had to make it more dramatic! Though i didn't think it would stretch out that long. But o well, that just means more room for them without leaving such a big cliffhanger! Again, i promise to update soon, definately within this week! Meep!**


	22. Chap 21: The Uchiha's Decision

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the reviews! Again, I appreciate those of you who choose to review. I update for you guys! Yea, I'm trying to please everyone, but the story plot for this situation is basically set so yea..but I think I managed to get everyones little request/pleads in. Oh and don't worry if things that you want aren't happening yet! It all will, you just gotta give it time…Cuz, Heck, I love Koizumi too!

**Warnings: **Nande monai.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series…Sasuke wouldn't be such an asshole! I mean, I've read about what has been happening in the manga…WOW! T.T. ..So there it is.

Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 21: Uchiha's Decision! Enemies Join Forces!**

(o)

(o)

(o)

(Long Drums opening to Naruto: Strong and Strike)

Koizumi's gaze calmly remained focused on the figure standing in between Sakura and Hidan - he seemed unaffected by the interruption, his stature and demeanor emotionless, his eyes cold, unmoving.

Her emerald orbs were wide as they transitioned to stare at pronounced back of the shinobi standing in front of her.There was a large, jagged yet defined gap in the wall to their right, signifying his place of forced entrance. A few leaves from the outside forest had traveled in with them, dragging themselves along the ground in accordance to slight breeze that pushed them. He stood casually, a lone hand idly resting in a pocket while the other was outstretched, holding Hidan's fist in a breaking grasp; his deep obsidian orbs emotionlessly held the Akatsuki member's surprised gaze.

Itachi's emotionless gaze rested on the same figure as well, his eyes briefly flickering in recognition.

_Why ... ?_

Her eyes had begun to waver in their wideness as her hands clenched in the ground beneath her. The inquiry repeated itself over and over in her mind, the complete and utter despairing confusion paralleling with her emotions. Her gaze fixated on the Uchiha clan symbol adorning the intruder's black colored stitching. The red rounded top that bore itself upon a spin-type like bottom , white in it's color .

"Sakura.." the intruder called . His voice stern and deep. "Are you stupid?" His words were almost slowly spoken at the same time that they were abrupt. He almost seemed insulted, angry, however his tone was of monotone. "If you really wanted to die this bad you could have just asked me to finish you off." He kept his stern eyes focused on Hidan, not glancing at the kunoichi he spoke to once. The hand that held the Akatsuki member's fist stationary constricted, threatening bone-breakage with the strength in which he squeezed; Hidan's face contorted into pain as he clicked his tongue in agitation, however he made noise of nothing. "Instead you would choose to die of someone as lowly as him?" Sasuke twisted Hidan's fist, forcing his released grasp of the kunai - the sudden clanking noise sounded as it banged against the ground, shuttering until falling motionless.

Her eyes had frozen in their waver before she lowered her head, obscuring part of her face from view.

_Why ?_

"Sakura.." Sasuke spoke again. His emotionless eyes were trained on Hidan, who's fist he still held in his grasp. "Is he the one who did that to you?"Sakura's head had raised to his inquiry , her hand finding her bruised and gashed lip as she looked down to her abdomen, the blood having soaked through her clothes. He must have already noticed when he came in. She still said nothing, her words dying in her throat with accordance to the sudden choke of tears.

The breif occurence brought Sasuke's obsidian gaze to glance at her newly watering orbs - and they had remained a bit longer than breifly, almost as if he were perplexed by an unknown emotion that swelled in cessation to her display of distress.

Even with his face contorted with pain, a dry grin decorated his lips. "That bitch deserved it-" His sudden interruption was halted the hand of Sasuke's that once held Hidan's, was shoved with incredible speed and force into the Akatsuki's stomach; the impact sent him flying past an unstartled Koizumi into the wall of the opposite side of the concrete room. Their was an awaiting silence as eyes transitioned to watch Hidan pick himself up from the rubble of the destroyed wall before bolting towards Sasuke in a raged manner.

The younger Uchiha waited for him, calm in his up-straight standing, hands placed in his pockets with casualness. The two collided with Sasuke bringing up a hand to still Hidan's punch, and manuevering his leg in a parry to Hidan's kick. No second transpired before Sasuke used that same leg to slam into Hidan's chest , sending him into the same wall. Sasuke had no time to straighten before another figure was upon him. Kakuzu's relenting gazed looked down upon Sasuke as his hand swung towards him, kunai in it's grasp.

When the huge clanking noise sounded, all eyes looked to watch the kunai held in Kakuzu's grasp fall the floor - resultant of an outside kunai intercepting it's path. The Akatsuki member immediately dissapeared from his location in surprise, reappearing next to Hidan; both gazes were focused on the figure that appeared next to Sasuke with slight surprise, as well as wariness.

(Song: Naruto - Strong and Strike)

Sakura's gaze widenced once more as she looked to the other Uchiha who had appeared in front of her, and next to Sasuke; his calm, unwavering gaze focused on the two Akastuki members before them. Not once did he glance to Sasuke, nor Sasuke to him. It brought on an abrupt moment of silence as all gazes looked to Sasuke, waiting for a reaction. Her heart had stopped as she waited, watching as Sasuke stood still, his eyes obscured by his bangs. It was forebodingly, when he slowly raised his head, stern Sharingan eyes focused on Kakuzu and Hidan.

He had struggled with a choice, and seemed to find his answer.

"Itachi, what is the meaning of this?"Kakuzu's gaze was wearily transitioning between Sasuke and Itachi.

"I will let this go no further. I ask you to step aside. Battle here is needless." Itachi's cool, montone voice was spoken clearly, genuinely. Kakuzu let out a small amused grunt.

"I agree. However my orders are clear. And as both an obstacle to us, and in betrayal of enactment of those same orders, we have no choice. If you do not choose wisely, you will die."

The older Uchiha did not at all seem affected by his words, he stood stationary, next to his brother, cold eyes unrelenting. He seemed to have have struggled with a choice, and found his answer.

In recognition of his choice ,no moment transpired before Hidan and Kakuzu seemingly dissapeared. No moment passed before each pair clashed - Kakuzu and Itachi, Hidan and Sasuke. Each side was very coordinated with their attacks. Itachi and Sasuke kept appearing next to eachother, clashing with the enemy with the same exact attack.

--

_Why?_

The same inquiry had sounded in her thoughts once again; her taken back emerald gaze focused on the Uchiha brothers as they fought the Akatsuki, of their own choice. They fought them because the said members had planned to kill her. They were all fighting, risking their lives, because of her. Because she couldn't fight for herself, because she was too coward to deal with her own life. What had she been thinking? Had she really wanted to die that badly?Was she that selfish? She had planned to leave behind all those that cared for her without a second thought. And it was because of that selfish motive that two unlikely people were forced to fight.

It brought the same question to her distressed thoughts, why?

--

Koizumi watched the battle silently. The stoic countenance that he bore on the outside was a complete counterbalance to the turmoil that raged inside, the strange sensations and memories that tried to divide his will. Inquiries as to why he showed mercy to the pink-haired kunoichi from his past. Why he was almost ..relieved that the two Uchiha brothers were fighting. Also, this abiding turning of his stomach as he watched them, analyzing, trying to figure out their connection to Sakura. Their feelings. Trying to comprehend why, why he almost felt, jealous?

He let his gaze transition to Sakura, fixating on her for a moment, watching her worried, troubled gaze as she looked at the two fighting for her.

_**"You asked me if I remembered the past. Do you?"**_

**Flashback(s)**

"Koizumi-kun! Koizumi-kun!" He looked back to see a pink haired little girl running towards him. Reveling at the fact that his insides seemed to melt with butterflies, fill with a sort of giddyness upon sight of her.

--

"It'd be a great honor if you'd welcome me with a smile when I return?" He had asked the question earnestly, but deep down he already knew the answer. He found himself not wanting to leave her with a frown. To be honest, he didn't want to leave at all, he had a bad feeling from the start. He didn't want to leave Sakura.

--

"Sakura-san. We will meet again, I promise." He was experiencing many strong feelings at that moment. Anger, Desperation, Hurt, Restlessness, Grief, Longing. A stray tear had made it's way down his face, moments from falling onto her porcelain-like skin.

It was the hardest thing to do. He had to tear himself away from her, and turn the other way, silently telling his legs to move one step at a time. It was something he never thought he'd be doing. But at that moment, his heart couldn't turn away from the rage that told him to make sure all those Sound were destroyed. He would make sure none came out alive. Their organization would end, he would make sure of tha before he left this world.

He didn't care how he did it, he didn't care what he had to do. Any possible way to do so, he would be willing to. Even if it meant leaving the most precious thing in his life. Even if it meant walking with darkness.

**End Flashback(s)**

It didn't matter how many memories continued to plague, what feelings he continuously sought to control. He had left that behind long ago, not wanting to relive those moments..or feelings. But the fact still was, he remembered. He had always remembered. However it was unacceptable. What he had become now, was unacceptable. He was way past the point of return. He was way past wanting to return.

And that's why he had to kill Haruno Sakura.

..ooo00oo00ooo..

Pakkun stated with wariness and awe from atop Kakashi's shoulders, who was also with the same incredulous stupor, downward towards the unconscious blond-haired shinobi propped up in Kakashi's arms. The said jounin himself sternly looked to Naruto, his eyes flickering with a sort of awarness and foreboding, a type of caution. It took a while before her tore his eyes away from Naruto to look at the two motionless bodies of the Akatsuki members.

It was unreal.

Frightening.

**Flashback**

Naruto's cerulean eyes were still unfocused, void of the pupils that showed his awareness, his consciousness. However he had slowly risen to a standing position, his head had turned in exact direction to the Akatsuki memebers, as if there _was _sight, _was _awareness. However his body seemed lacking, there was no reading of chakra anywhere inside him, nothing determining that he should still be among the living.

It couldn't be of his own accord could it? His fighting spirit - Naruto's will to keep righting till the end?Even if he had already passed his limit, burned all the chakra that his exhausted body had?

"Jinchuuriku of the Kyuubi, you don't think to fight us now, do you?" There was mockery, yet a genuine question laced with Zetsu's words, his face contorted with a grin behind the save haven of the jaws of his flytrap. "The Kyubbi is unable to help you both survive this ordeal, your power is now, reduced, to nothing."He again finished with intended matter-of-factness, drowning in humor.

Naruto's blank gaze reflected the sight of the two standing before him.

**_Everyone always tells me that... that I'm not a true ninja, that I rely on the Kyuubi's power too much…that I have none of my own…they say..If it weren't for the Kyuubi, I would be dead right now… I wouldn't have ever made it this far..that i am nothing without it..  
_**

It was then that blue chakra exploded from beneath him, rising in height like burning flames, moving to swirl around him with an erratic, yet calm and graceful manner; he was pulsating with inexplicable power - winds were ferocious, threatening to knock those surrounding off their feet as they had to fight to simply stay standing.

Kakashi's wide eyes remained focused on Naruto, his blue chakra was flaring even higher, creating the look as if he was engulfed in flames. It represented anger, determination.

Surprised and worried by his sudden display of power, Zetsu preformed a few handseals before shoving his clenched fists into the ground. Instantly many venus flytraps emerged from the ground in a straight path towards Naruto. Deidara also took the opportunity and did a few handseals as well."Torigata Nendo." The unmolded clay attached itself to the venus flytraps as the continued towards Naruto. Naruto's eerie, unfocused gaze still remained on the two Akatsuki members. As the flytraps neared closer to him, his eyes closed as his head lowered.

**_I don't believe that. I never will….I will not run away…_that_, is my way of the ninja!_**

Naruto's head shot up as the clay molds adorning the flytraps had started to spark in their position right next to him, his deep cerulean orbs holding a pupil, showing his regained conciousness. However he remained unmoving.

It was then that a somewhat large explosion rocked the forest clearing.

Kakashi and Pakkun were forced to jump back as the blinding light threatened to consume them. However their stern eyes were fixated on the explosion, waiting for the smoke to subside. And it did, revealing the swirling blue chakra - Naruto hadn't moved an inch, however he was unscathed, only the earth surrounding all sides of him burdened with crators and burns.

"The explosion, was completely absorbed by his chakra energy?" Pakkun payed no heed to the dot of perspiration that slid down his dog-like face.

"If the Kyuubi can't fight in the face of it's threatened life, then i will." His cerulean orbs were stern as his fists clenched, his voice calm yet filled with venom. "I will fight for the both of us!" His last words were concluded with his swift disappearance, and he reappeared with unparalled speed, falling down upon the surprised Akatsuki members, Ransengan-filled fist poised.

"Incredible speed. He left no moment for his moves to be seen until impact. He created one of his most powerful attacks instantly, without the aid of his clones."

Deirdara and Zetsu were barely able to dodge as Naruto's fist dug into the earth, creating a large, spherical explosion.

..ooo00oo00ooo..

Itachi jumped to the side as Sasuke ran from behind him, towards the two Akatsuki members. His once empty fist was instantly filled with a staticky, consuming ball of chakra- he shoved his ahead of him, a large explosion ensuing.

..ooo00oo00ooo..

Naruto slowly raised himself into a standing position, gaze resting on the spot where the two Akatsuki members reappeared.

Deidara threw a few kunai in his direction. Zestu sent more flytraps. With amazing speed, Naruto seemingly disappeared, dodging the kunai, but one of them disappeared with him. When he reappeared he was even closer to them, kunai at hand,moving at an incredible speed. He maneuvered his body to dodge the venus flytraps. As they came around at him again, he effortlessly used the kunai to cut their stems.

He dropped to the ground in front of Zetsu, and it seemed to go in slow motion as the Akatsuki spy's eyes widened as he watched Naruto shoot up towards him kunai in hand. The Venus flytrap around the Akatsuki spy's head tried to close up, but Naruto was too fast. He shoved the kunai towards his multi-colored face, in the middle of his forehead. The flytrap around him completely stopped as Zetsu's eyes rolled to the back of his head. He fell to the ground, the venus flytrap enclosing his head withering away. The Akstuki member lay motionless, pronounced dead.

Naruto's head slowly turned to the side as he glared at Deidara, who was a distance behind him. The Akatsuki member jumped back further, cursing under his breath, his adorned with panic.

Deidara attempted to do a few hastey handseals, however was interrupted as Naruto instantly appeared in front of him, landing a chakra filled punch to his face. He left no time for Deidara to land as he pursued, landing punch after punch and kick after kick. Swiftly, Naruto snatched a kunai from Diedara, and made a swing. Deidara managed to dodge, a few of his hair strands falling to the ground. Naruto in turn, kicked him another time. He chased after Deidara and jumped up in the air. When he came down, Naruto shoved the kunai in the middle of his chest, taking both of them to the ground. It seemed to go in slow motion as Naruto's gaze was focused ahead as their bodies fell towards the earth - as the kunai penetrated Deidara's chest, a few drops of of blood splattered onto his cheek.

Upon full impact to the ground, Naruto did a small flip, landing at Deidara's feet. The Akatsuki member coughed out blood.

"Your not so bad, yeah?" Deidara started, a sly grin making its way onto his face. "But with those wounds your pretty much dead, yeah?"On que. a large amount of blood splattered onto the grass below Naruto, his former wounds reopening to join with the newer ones. He slightly hunched over, eyes still remaining on Deidara. It seemed the Akatsuki member were about to say more, but he coughed up more blood, and closed his eyes.

Naruto looked at the fallen Akatsuki members before turning around in Kakashi's direction. Without making eye contact, the young man began to make his way over there. After a few steps, he collapsed.

**End Flashback**

"Kakashi, he's on the brink of critical condition. We have to take him back to Konoha immediately, or he will die." Kakashi looked to the ground with troubled eyes. He took a deep sigh. They didn't have too much medial skills, they could only stop the bleeding for a small amount of time, buying them enough to attempt bringing him back to Konoha alive. They couldn't risk his life any further. The mission to retreive Sakura had to be abandoned. Hopefully only for the moment.

With that Kakashi carefully lifted the unconscious Naruto onto his back, taking one last look at the path they were headed on, before turning the opposite way.

This would be his second sprint, Naruto on his back, towards Konoha.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sasuke and Itachi calmly returned to tall standing positions as they had lowered their formerly outstretched legs. Their emotionless gazes rested on two Akatsuki members who had just crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the room, the same part of the wall crumbling all around them, large pieces of debris toppling over them. It was a moment longer before a small explosion of sorts sent the debris flying off of the compacted area. Hidan and Kakuzu emerged, calmly walking towards them.

"I will try one last time Itachi." Kakuzu started. "What will you gain from saving that woman? And fighting alongside your brother, who you will only battle after?"

"What will you gain from killing her?" Itachi countered, with his calm emotionless voice.

"Satisfaction at the thought of ridding such a bitch-" Hidan started.

"Shutup Hidan!" Kakuzu quickly replied. Sasuke had started his position, but immediately froze when Itachi had thrown his arm in front of him. His icy gaze snapped to the older Uchiha in a glare. As if it took every ounce of self-control he possessed, the younger Uchiha allowed no pause as he slowly straightened up, eyes slowly transitioning to the two Akatsuki members, namely Hidan.

"I have no desire to fight you, Kakuzu-san, please step aside." Itachi still held manners even in this situation.

"Nor do I, Itachi. Do you really intend to give up all you have worked for? Everything you've done will have all been useless. You plan to turn your back on this organization for her?"

Sakura lowered her head even further. She wanted to say something, really. But the words kept dying in her throat. She was starting to feel nauseous. Her heart was hurting even more. She reached a shakey hand up to grasp the clothing above her heart. She didn't notice when Sasuke's eyes traveled back to look at her for second.

"I was never truly a part of this organization." His answer was very vague, equivocated - the meaning behind his words unclear. kakuzu seemed as though he were about to question, his eyes unsure, however was interrupted.

"Enough of this. It seems they won't go down without a fight. That's what we'll give them." Koizumi had stepped forward, his eyes were trained on Sakura.

Her wide eyes met his gaze.

This wasn't good, she had witnessed Koizumi's power back when she was little. Back then when they were being attacked that night the village was destroyed, he was already weak and had little chakra. But other times, she was awed. He was stronger than Itachi is now, back then. There's no doubt that he improved over the years.

Sakura looked to Itachi, studying him.

But wait, what was she kidding herself? She hadn't seen Itachi's full power, not even close yet, so she had no clue how strong he was. Sakura looked to Sasuke. And Sasuke, she hadn't really seen him battle fully. He was just toying with her back then. She couldn't believe that they would just be defeated easily, but still. She didn't want them getting hurt over her. Sakura lowered her head, and took a deep breath.

"Just let them kill me!" Sakura started. Everyone's eyes snapped to her. "There's no use fighting for me, getting hurt because of me. Please, just don't fight." Sakura finished. She didn't bring her head up to look at any of them.

"That's the spirit, woman!" Hidan started. "Finally something we can agree on." Hidan remarked, teasingly.

"Don't order me around, Sakura." Sasuke spoke. His voice was cold, but irritated. Sakura's head slowly rose up to look at Sasuke, who was walking in front of her. "I'm tired of hearing these idiots throw words around. I'm past mercy for their lives." The peircing sound echoed throughout the room as he finally initiated his Sharingan. He had made a decision.

"Sakura-san, I will not allow you to die." Itachi also calmly walked to Sasuke's side, once again positioning himself in front of her. His voice was gentle at the same time that it was emotionless. He had made a decision.

There they stood. The two Uchiha brothers. Itachi and Sasuke. Side by side, under the most unfortunate circumstances. Ready to fight the most powerful shinobi, for one woman. They had long ago made their decision. They were going to put aside their feelings towards each at that moment, they were going to ignore the whispered calls for battle with each other.

They were going to protect Haruno Sakura.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**My apologies for lack of "edge-of-your-seat action" this chapter. I have my lazy moments, don't worry, they pique me as well. I'm planning on creating some nice action for next chapter, wishfully enough to make up for the lack in this chapter. :**

Thanks


	23. Chap 22: The Uchiha Clan's Successors

**A/N**: Wow..thankyou so much for your awesome reviews! I'm really glad you all like my story so much! I will continue to do my best to improve this story. It's gotten better all thanks to you readers! I love you all:D

Sorry for the long update! My computer shut down! But now it's all better.

**Warnings: **Nada.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series Sasuke would realize how much he appreciates Sakura and how she's treated him. It would make him wanna give them a chance, maybe learn to love her…if he doesn't already!;)..So there it is.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 22: The Uchiha Clan's Succescors. Itachi and Sasuke.**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Itachi and Sasuke clashed with Kakuzu and Hidan, kunai to kunai. The small sparks from the colliding weapons disappeared into the air as quickly as they appeared. Koizumi and Sakura watched as the duo's disappeared again.

Sasuke and Itachi would both appear next to each other as Hidan and Kakuzu would. Butthe Uchiha brotherswere coordinated and well matched in their attacks, unlike to other Akatsuki members. Even though they did not communicate on how to attack. It was amazing. They were untouchable.

The Uchiha brothers really were alike, in both attack and personality. Despite them using the same exact attack, the Akatsuki members couldn't predict their movements.

Sasuke and Itachi both rushed in with a powerful blow to the gut, knocking the wind out of Hidan and Kakuzu. Next they began drilling punches into their faces. With exact timing and precision, the Uchiha brothers made a small jump up into the air before delivering a powerful spin kick to the Akatsuki member's faces.

..ooo000ooo000ooo.

She finally pushed herself up into a standing position, one hand was positioned gently on her abdomen, which was beginning to sting. She had been too overwhelmed with her feelings earlier to feel any physical pain. Sakura was staring with slightly wide eyes at the Uchiha brothers. She couldn't really believe it. They were amazing! It was almost like the two were robots, designed to execute the same exact attacks on the enemy. They were flawless in their attacks, almost as if the two had been training together all these years, which was basically impossible.

Sakura couldn't help herself when she took a quick glance to Koizumi. His eyes were trained on the battle. He really did look the same as he did all those years ago, except more handsome. Couldn't she do anything? Couldn't she somehow change him back to his old self? Sakura reprimanded herself for even thinking about it. She tore her eyes away from Koizumi. She was supposed to be letting him go, not getting more attached, if there was even more room to do so…Besides…she still had feelings for Sasuke didn't she? No. She was not going to get into that. She had to let him go too, seeing as he had already done so long ago.

...ooo000ooo000ooo..

Kakuzu and Hidan had preformed a few two hand back flips to prevent themselves from colliding with the ground. As soon as they did so, they were already in front of the Uchiha brothers. With amazing speed, the Akatsuki members started performing different attacks on each of the Uchiha's. Sasuke and Itachi both had different moves and methods to counter the different attacks that were coming at them. Hidan and Kakuzu had separated them. They were a few good yards away from each other, fighting their own battles.

Itachi wasn't attacking Kakuzu, only blocking and dodging his attacks. He could have easily already defeated the other Akatsuki member. Was he just taking his time? Itachi ducked as Kakuzu aimed a kick for his head. He moved his head to the sides to avoid more punches. Itachi did this for a while, noticing that Kakuzu wasn't really fighting either. Well he was, but his mind seemed distracted. Was he planning something?

Sasuke moved his head to the side as Hidan aimed a chakra filled fist. The Young Uchiha dodged a few more of Hidan's attacks before initiating his own combo of attacks. They consisted of a few punches to the gut, which successfully hit. Hidan began a combo of attacks as well, which Sasuke managed to block and dodge. He wasn't able to do so with a quick punch that caught him off guard. Well he could of if he had been trying.

Sasukeand Itachi had both silently decided to themselvesthat they weren't going to waste any chakra using jutsu's. They didn't need any to defeat them.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura was still amazed at how the Uchiha brothers were fighting with much ease.

Like Itachi, Sasuke didn't really have to try so much. But it was almost as if the other two weren't trying either. Even if they were trying, they are the two lowest members of the Akatsuki organization, meaning they were the least powerful. Even so, all of the Akatsuki members were S-rank criminals, meaning they are all very powerful, despite their rank in the Akatsuki. Any normal shinobi would have difficultly dealing with one, even when they weren't fighting at full power. But Itachi and Sasuke were having no problems at atll. Were Itachi and Sasuke really that powerful? The Uchiha brothers? Was that why shinobi everywhere praised the Uchiha Clan? Had Sasuke managed to live up to his clan's expectations, like Itachi had? Sakura focused on the younger Uchiha.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sasuke began another combo of assaults, landing a few punches to Hidan's face. Sasuke finally aimed a kick, but the Akatsuki member swiftly caught Sasuke's foot holding it in place. Sasuke smirked. So this was his true speed. He had been trying to get Hidan to really fight. Only then would he take satisfaction at killing this moron. Sasuke to a quick glance at Sakura. He kept saying he was killing Hidan because he felt like it. So he of course denied Sakura's injuries having any say in this.

Sasuke's foot was still being held by Hidan, so he aimed a punch, again, testing Hidan's speed. Hidan caught Sasuke's fist, holding it in place along with his foot.

"To slow!" Hidan teased. He didn't notice the intensity in which Sasuke's eyes burned into him. Sasuke wasn't going to take that, he wasn't even really trying up until this point. Sasuke slowly put on his trademark smirk. With lightning fast speed, Sasuke brought up his free leg, kneeing Hidan in the chin. The powerful blow sent Hidan flying up into the ceiling. His whole body scrunched up as his head pounded on the ceiling. Upon contact, part of the ceiling crumbled, falling down with Hidan to the ground. It created a huge cloud of smoke from the wall parts. With his hands in his pockets, Sasuke casually walked towards the crash site, waiting for the smoke to subside. His eyes widened however as he sensed someone move past him with amazing speed. He fully turned his body halfway around to look behind him, in Sakura's direction.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura had fallen down onto her bottom out of surprise. She looked with wide eyes at the feet of the person who appeared in front of her.

His legs were covered by a black coat, adorned in red-lined clouds. His clothes didn't ruffle, but he had brought a slight wind with him, in turn ruffling her own clothes. A few strands of her pink hair fell into her face. Slowly, Sakura brought her head up to see emerald green hair and pink eyes. Yet they seemed unfocused. Koizumi's stature was very still and tense. Very…soulless. His head was tilted up a little bit as he looked down at Sakura with no expression on his face.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Itachi had sensed the movement, as he himself let his eyes travel over to where Sakura was. It was then that Itachi realized that it was all set up. So they had planned to use this as a distraction. He immediately attempted to run to Sakura. But Kakuzu appeared in front of him, letting Itachi silently know that he would only get to Sakura "over his dead body". Itachi took a looked down to Sakura, he looked for Sasuke. He would have to rely on him to save her.

Itachi's sharingan eyes snapped back to Kakuzu. His eyes were still emotionless, but they held a silent fury. Itachi was through playing around.

With amazing speed, Kakuzu aimed a kick for Itachi's head. When it looked as if his foot had made contact, Itachi brought his hand up to the side of his head, catching Kakuzu's foot. Using only that hand, Itachi let go of it for a split second to fully grasp Kakuzu's foot. He performed one full spin before letting go, causing Kakuzu to fly into a wall yet again. Itachi immediately disappeared, appearing behind Kakuzu before he would make contact with the wall.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sasuke was a few feet away from Sakura, but Hidan appeared in front of him, aiming a punch. Sasuke tried to dodge, more concerned with getting to Sakura, but Hidan kept aiming attacks at him with this newfound speed. Even when Sasuke would attack, delivering powerful blows, Hidan just kept coming and coming. Getting very frustrated, Sasuke took out a kunai charging Hidan, who only took out a kunai himself, meeting the Uchiha head on. With a desperate look, Sasuke looked to Itachi, hoping he was free to get to Sakura, only to see that his brother was being held back as well.

"Kuso!" Sasuke looked to Sakura, staring defenselessly up at Koizumi. That alone gave him motivation. He tore his eyes away from her and looked at Hidan, with a newfound determination. He delivered one very powerful punch to Hidan's gut, digging his fist even further. He then started a combo of quick, relentless punches to the same spot, each one getting faster as the number increased. Sasuke finished with a powerful jump kick that would send the Akatsuki member flying into the ceiling. Sasuke jumped up as well, traveling higher with Hidan. Gathering all his strength, Sasuke delivered a very powerful spin kick. It sent Hidan flying at a diagonal angle into the wall. Sasuke wasted no time in landing, before jumping back, and performing a few handseals. He leaned back as his chest puffed out.

"Katon:Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" Sasuke leaned forward as a large ball of flame was exhaled from his mouth. It buried itself into the wall and Hidan. Sasuke immediately disappeared.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura looked at Koizumi with wide eyes. There was basically no way she could defend herself. But now, she didn't want to die. Now, she realized she couldn't, no, would not, leave her friends behind. She couldn't leave them all, not yet. Sakura's look turned into determination.

_I don't know what I can do, I basically have no chakra..but..I have to do something!_

She could at least try to distance herself from him, or even dodge his attacks. No matter how unlikely that was. Sakura took a deep breath, bracing herself for the pain as she lifted herself onto her feet in a crouching position. But Koizumi didn't let her do anything further. Sakura was only able to gasp as she saw a kunai equipped in his hand. She didn't even see him take it out! He was fast! Just like Itachi. It seemed to go in slow motion as Koizumi directed the kunai at Sakura in a stabbing motion.

Sakura let out a scream as blood spurted on her face. It wasn't the blood that upset her, it was the owner of the blood. She looked up to Sasuke who was crouched in front of her, his left side facing Koizumi. He had his right arm around her, and his left forearm held up to Koizumi, who actually seemed a little surprised. He had stuck his arm out in the path of the kunai, which was now embedded in his arm. Koizumi still had his hand on the kunai, and Sasuke was still holding his arm stationary, not letting Koizumi push further. He was wincing in pain as the blood flew from his wound in a constant stream. Tears started falling from Sakura wide eyes without warning.

His eyes burning with a silent fury, Sasuke pushed his injured arm up against Koizumi catching him off guard. Sasuke pushed himself off the ground and delivered a chakra filled punch to Koizumi's face, sending him skidding on his feet a few feet back. Sasuke stood his ground, eyes trained on Koizumi. He ignored the blood dripping to the ground below him. He took a quick glance to make sure Sakura was ok, before settling his gaze on Koizumi.

Koizumi lowered his gaze to look at Sasuke, who had the kunai embedded in his arm.

**Flashback**

He heard Little Sakura scream as the sword stabbed through his abdomen. He had no time to get Sakura out of the way so he did the only thing he could. Take the blow for her. He winced in pain as more blood dripped to the ground, from the two wounds he had now sustained. He did it for Sakura, that was all that mattered.

**End Flashback**

Why did he keep having these flashbacks? Why was it that every time he looked at Sakura, this feeling kept swelling up inside of him? Every time he saw an act of protection towards Sakura that feeling came yet again. His head would hurt as well. He was fighting to keep a cool, emotionless state. Koizumi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opened them, they were sharp, and glowing bright as ever. He would have to dispose of Sasuke first.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed a warning as Koizumi disappeared. Before he even appeared, Sasuke jumped to the side, barely dodging a swipe from Koizumi's kunai. He was forced to block as Koizumi aimed a combo of attacks with amazing speed. Sasuke would hold in a noise of pain everytime Koizumi hit his injured arm, which he was using to block with. Koizumi finished, landing a successful punch to Sasuke's face. Sasuke was forced to perform a backflip to land on his feet. He used his uninjured arm to wipe the small trickle of blood that made it's way down his chin.

"Chikuso." Sasuke silently cursed. This guy was amazingly fast. Just a little punch like that sent him flying. And the kunai in his arm was also limiting his movements as well, along with draining his blood. He was starting to lose a lot of it. Sasuke lowered himself into a combat position, waiting for Koizumi to attack again. When he didn't, Sasuke reached into his kunai holster, loading his fingers with little shuriken. He immediately threw them at Koizumi, who only caught them, immediately returning them to Sasuke. The young Uchiha was forced to jump out of the way. But as soon as he did so, Koizumi was already in front of him.

Sasuke aimed a punch with his uninjured arm, but Koizumi easily caught it, holding it in place. Koizumi, using his free hand, took out another kunai, planning to imbed it in another part of Sasuke's body. The kunai gleamed in the light as Koizumi raised it above his head, ready to help it descend into Sasuke. He wouldn't be able to avoid it.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed again. Using her sheer force of will, she pushed herself up off the ground, trying to make it to Sasuke, but she wasn't fast enough.

It all seemed to go in slow motion as Sasuke saw the kunai coming at him. He had been caught off guard. _Kuso!_

Just in time, however, Itachi appeared in front of them, meeting Koizumi's kunai with his own. Almost immediately, with lightning fast speed, Itachi aimed a kick for Koizumi's head, successfully hitting the Akatsuki leader. Koizumi flew back in the air, executing a back flip before landing on his feet. He sharply lifted his head to look at the older Uchiha. His eyes traveled around, finally spotting Kakuzu who was leaned up against the wall, half dead. His eyes snapped back to Itachi.

Itachi slowly stood up tall, never taking his gaze off of Koizumi.

**Flashback**

Itachi let go of Kakuzu's foot, letting him fly into the nearby wall. Kakuzu immediately shot out from the ground advancing on Itachi. From out of nowhere four shuriken seemingly appeared in Itachi's right hand. He was so fast that even Kakuzu didn't see him use any handseals. Four areas around Kakuzu erupted with water, shooting towards him.

"There's no water around here! How did you!" Kakuzu questioned, surprised, before he got engulfed in the water. It was going so fast that the water beet at him like kunai. As soon as the water jutsu was finished, Kakuzu was barely able to take out a kunai as Itachi came at him with one of his own. He was in pain from that jutsu, and soaking wet, so it was harder to move.Just as soon as Kakuzu blocked the kunai, Itachi delivered a gut wrenching blow to his abdomen. After the first powerful one, came faster, repetitive punches, all very powerful. Itachi finished it off with a spin kick, which sent Kakuzu flying towards the wall again.

But before Kakuzu even made contact with the wall, Itachi was already in front of him. His hand shot out, grabbing Kakuzu's neck, in turn slamming him into the cracked wall. Itachi lifted Kakuzu higher above him, still pushing him against the wall.

"..I was ..crazy to think I could..go up against..you.." Kakuzu managed to mutter with a trace of humor. Itachi was well above his league. He'd bet that he was more powerful than every Akatsuki member in the orginization. He was definatley well above Orochimaru. Maybe even the leader. No, that wasn't possible. Koizumi would crush him and his little brother. Kakuzu let out a small chuckle.

"But..you won't..defeat our leader." Itachi didn't give him any reaction whatsoever. Kakuzu watched as Itachi slowly closed his eyes.

"Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi slowly opened his eyes, revealing the unique, most powerful, yet, scary form of the Sharingan.

**End Flashback**

Itachi had caused a mental collapse for Kakuzu. It was the fastest way to defeat him. Itachi had no desire or time to finish him off as he rushed to save Sakura and Sasuke. In turn he had used a portion of his chakra for the Mangekyou. He still held his Sharingan eyes, which he never disabled unless he need to rest his eyes, which was only after he used a huge amount of chakra, which was very rare. Itachi and Koizumi seemed to have a staring contest. Their cold, emotionless eyes, never leaving the other.

Sakura tried to get Sasuke to lend her his arm, but he kept snatching it away despite the pain. He wouldn't even look at her. Becoming tense, Sasuke grasped the kunai and quickly took it out. He closed his eyes to prevent himself from grunting in pain. He quickly took of his shirt, using his mouth to rip a large piece of it. With ease he wrapped the cloth around his arm, tying it tightly. It already began to soak through.

"..Sasuke.." Sakura muttered. Sasuke had learned how to fully take care of himself. Well of course, he had been alone all this time. He didn't need her. He hate her. Sasuke wouldn't even make eye contact with her. Then why did he take that kunai for her!

"Why did you do that!" Sakura yelled. She couldn't stand that fact that he had gotten hurt because of her. And she was confused as to why he did so. He had told her himself that he wasn't going to protect her, let alone take a kunai for her.

Sasuke didn't want to look at Sakura. Every time he did, it made him more angry. An image of Itachi would appear. He didn't answer her question. He used the rest of his shirt to tie another portion around his arm again, seeing as the blood already soaked through.

"Sasuke..I can heal it." Sakura pleaded with him. Her voice in general upset him. Earlier he had been so focused to come in and save her, he had forgotten about Itachi and what she had done. He was furious with her. But again, he kept his cool, emotionless facade.

"With what chakra?" He countered. He knew all to well what kind of shape Sakura was in. With a slight intake of breath, Sasuke stood up fully making his way a few feet from Itachi. They both made quick eye contact with each other before focusing their eyes on Koizumi.

One last shinobi stood in his way. One last shinobi prevented him from getting his revenge. Sasuke clenched both of his fists, ignoring the pain from his wound.

Sakura's body was tense as she watched. So this was it. The battle she had been dreading. For many reasons.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading! I hope you reader's liked it!Sorry for the cliff-hanger!**

**And I'm sorry about this too! I can't just forget about the shinobi that have been taken back to Konoha, and everything that's going on with that...sooo...Next chapter will probably be taking place in Konoha with the others. I'm going to try and put some fluff for the other characters. I feel i haven't been stressing the other couples much at all. So yea. But ya never know, I might become genius these next few days and find a way to fit the battle in too, or part of it. Or something lol...But..it's highly unlikely.**

**So tell me what you readers think. Should i show what's going on i Konoha next chapter, or wait till after I finish the battle with Koizumi? Please tell me! Ja!**


	24. Chap 23: Truth Unveiled?

**A/N:** Thanks so much for the reviews! I decided to finish the battle for you guys, your reviews really helped! So sorry for the long update! Went to Florida for Disney World!

**Warnings: **Nada.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series..Naruto and Hinata would start getting closer and develop a sort of relationship because..they are the cutest couple!..So there it is.

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 23: Truth Unveiled! Please, Stop it Sasuke!**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Sakura couldn't read their movements at all. She assumed they were using hand seals to create all these numerous jutsu's and techniques that appeared one after the other, but she did not actually see them performing the hand seals. They were unbelievably fast. She was shocked, surprised, amazed, all of the above. One second they were one place, the next at another. There fighting styles were completely different. They held nothing back.

The three shinobi separated once again, landing on the ground a few feet away from each other. Two pairs of deep red Sharingan eyes glared calmly into pink. All eyes were filled with such intensity as the moment to attack neared again.

Four shuriken seemed to appear in Itachi's hand with amazing speed. Almost immediately Koizumi jumped back and preformed what looked to be one hand seal due to his amazing speed. A barrier of water shot around him just in time as sharp pillars of water collided with the barrier.

Sasuke's seemed to have timed the exact moment when the water barrier around Koizumi would dissipate. Little fireballs were already on there way, timed to hit at the exact moment. Koizumi noticed this, and managed to disappear right before they hit.

Both of the Koizumi's eyes seemed to glow brighter as they gracefully lifted their right index fingers in front of them. A strange beaming noise could be heard as the tip of Koizumi's finger began to light up with a very small circle of pink chakra. As soon as it appeared, a straight beam of light erupted from their fingers in a perfect line. How was he doing that? Sasuke and Itachi both jumped in different directions to avoid the chakra beams. They were forced to dodge more as the Koizumi's continued to pursue them.

They were so fast that all the Uchiha brothers could do was dodge. Chakra beam after beam came as the brothers preformed many skillful maneuvers. The clone was just as powerful as the real Koizumi. It was unreal.

Itachi appeared in front of the real Koizumi and began a combo of attacks. Both him and Koizumi went at it, delivering blows, both landing hits and taking hits.

Sakura watched as Sasuke and the clone were in a hand-to-hand combat. It was just a clone,yet, it fought just like Koizumi, and it was able to use techniques as the real one would. Sasuke jumped back a did a few familiar hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" His chest puffed up as he exhaled a huge flame from his mouth. But the clone anticipated this and disappeared with amazing speed. As soon as he did so, the Koizumi clone brought both hands up, aiming his palms at Sasuke. The familiar pink ball of chakra began to appear in his hands. It was a larger version of the chakra beams he was using earlier. Just as soon as it looked like the chakra beam would shoot, the Koizumi clone aimed his palms elsewhere.

Sakura looked with wide eyes as the pink chakra beam that was making it's way towards her. She managed to push herself off the ground, but wasn't fast enough to do much else. Luckily Sasuke had appeared using one arm to grab her around the waist, and dodge the attack. Sakura winced in pain due to the wound on her abdomen. Sasuke knew it was hurting her, but it was the only way he could have helped her dodge that fast.

But just as soon as they dodged, the clone was on them. Sasuke brought up his injured arm to block the first blow. Holding Sakura closer, Sasuke spun around, using his leg to deliver a powerful blow that sent the clone flying into a nearby wall. Sasuke and Sakura landed on the ground. As soon as he let her go, however, the clone was already on Sasuke aiming a punch. It hit Sasuke in the face, sending him flying not even three feet into the wall behind Sakura. The force of the blow created a huge crater in the wall, and huge pieces of it started falling to the ground.

Sakura was forced to jump roll onto the ground to avoid the falling pieces of wall. She looked back up to the wall, worried, only to see that Sasuke had already disappeared, and was attacking the clone.

Sakura looked to Itachi seeing that him and the real Koizumi were still battling it out. But it seemed Koizumi had the upper hand. With unbelievable speed, Koizumi punched Itachi, sending him flying. The Uchiha did a small back flip landing next to Sasuke. As Itachi stood up tall, both him and Sasuke looked at both the Koizumi's who were now standing next to each other on the huge statue at the rear of the room.

They were about to start the chakra beams again.

Before they could do so, Sasuke and Itachi decided to counter-attack. Their minds were very alike as they both thought of the same plan. Each Uchiha brother charged at a Koizumi; Sasuke unarmed, charged for the clone, and Itachi charged at the real Koizumi with a kunai at hand.

Itachi collided with Koizumi kunai to kunai. The sparks from the colliding weapons flew into the air, disappearing as soon as they appeared. He used his free hand to take out another kunai. Just as it looked like he was about to strike Koizumi, Itachi threw the kunai in Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke fist dug into the statue as the Koizumi clone jumped off, avoiding his attack. Sasuke had planned for the clone to do so however. Sasuke took out his own kunai and glanced at the kunai coming in his direction. The kunai that Itachi threw seemed to be attracted to Sasuke's foot like a magnet, sliding and staying under his blue sandal, yet not touching. Sasuke was focusing chakra into his foot. Sasuke looked graceful as he planted both his hands on the concrete statue using it as leverage to carefully and graceful spin his leg around in the direction of the Koizumi clone before letting go of his chakra hold. As soon as he did so, Sasuke continued spinning, somehow lifting up his hands. He threw his own kunai in the real Koizumi's direction, before advancing on the clone.

The kunai embedded itself in the clone's abdomen. Sasuke was already on the Koizumi clone, and he delivered a combo of attacks, successfully hitting him. The clone flew into the wall. Sasuke immediately landed on the ground before performing a few hand seals. One of his arms shot out in front of him, palm facing the ground. Immediately the ground around him started to spark, producing lighting.

The kunai that Sasuke had thrown at the real Koizumi had provided Itachi enough distraction to land a few blows to the Akatsuki leader. Koizumi was forced the block the kunai coming towards him, leaving room for Itachi to make the hits. They both took a glance to Sasuke as a loud sound could be heard.

The whole room was filled with the sound of a thousand birds chirping wildly. By now, Sasuke's hand was filled with a controlled ball of lighting. Sasuke brought his arm out to his side with the support of his free arm.

"Chidori!" With unbelievable speed, Sasuke advanced on the Koizumi clone. When he was close enough, Sasuke let out a battle cry as he shoved his arm forward, digging it into the clones abdomen. Sasuke's arm protruded all the way through his abdomen until the clone disappeared into a puff of smoke. Sasuke still had his arm outstretched as the smoke dissipated.

He slowly stood up into a standing position,taking small breaths whilewatching as Itachi and Koizumi separated from each other. Itachi had landed a few feet away from Sasuke.

"Impressive." Koizumi stated. He was referring to both, mainly Sasuke for disposing of the clone. It seemed that Koizumi was still playing around with them. But Itachi left no room for conversation as he began to perform a few handseals. But he took his time, seemingly on purpose, as if he wanted Koizumi to know what kind of jutsu he was using.

"Suiton: Suigadan No Jutsu." It was the same water jutsu from earlier.

Koizumi immediately preformed the same hand seals as he did earlier, and the same water barrier surrounded him. A circle of water spikes were blocked. But this time, something was different.

"Hyoton: Haryu Moko No Jutsu!" Surprised, Koizumi looked at Sasuke.

Sakura crossed her arms, trying to keep herself warm as the entire room became freezing cold. Little white particles of snow seemed to fall from the ceiling. She could see her own breath.

Ice in the form of a large tiger was making it's way towards Koizumi and his water barrier. As each huge paw pounded on the ground, the concrete underneath it froze on contact. It was extremely cold, so cold, even before it made contact with the water barrier, it was already frozen.

Somehow the tiger let out a roar as it collided with the half frozen water barrier. It froze the water even more, trapping Koizumi inside. It was Itachi's turn. They had to act fast before Koizumi had a chance to escape.

"Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu." Itachi's chest puffed out as he exhaled an enormously large fireball in Koizumi's direction. It had began to partially melt the ice. Itachi kept the fireball going, knowing that it would need a lot more heat to melt the freezing ice. Mustering all the strength he could, Sasuke threw a kunai at the ice barrier, letting it travel through the flaming fire. With a loud clanking sound, the kunai embedded itself in the ice. The fire was slowly helping it get through the ice, and towards Koizumi.

They were working against time as Koizumi started to develop a huge ball of pink chakra in his fist. It was aimed behind him, it's purpose to break through the ice, allowing his escape. At that rate, the kunai, wouldn't make it through in time. Sasuke was immediately on the kunai, even through the fire, which Itachi finally stopped when he saw Sasuke appear. Letting out a small battle cry Sasuke started delivering blows to the kunai, in turn pushing it even further into the ice, closer to Koizumi.

Sasuke took a glance at Koizumi's hand, which was filled with the chakra now. It was a matter of seconds. Sasuke delivered more blows to the kunai, each one getting stronger than the last. The ice was cracking even more at the kunai traveled deeper. Part of it was sticking through the ice, almost touching Koizumi. By that time Sasuke could hear the beaming noise as the chakra began to explode from Koizumi's hand.

It all seemed to go in slow motion as Sasuke lifted up his foot, preparing to deliver a very powerful kick. The ice was already begging to explode around the two, the little shards cutting a few exposed areas of their skin. As Sasuke's foot made contact with the kunai, he let out a small battle cry. The kunai broke through the part of the ice. By then the whole barrier of ice had exploded, but Sasuke and Koizumi disappeared, avoiding the rest of the shards.

Itachi quickly made his way over to Sakura and picked her up, dodging the ice shards that were coming in her direction. As soon as they landed, Sakura looked past Itachi's arm, making brief eye contact with Sasuke, who immediately looked the other way. Her guilty eyes shot down to the ground. She muttered a quick thank you as Itachi moved away from her. She looked back to Sasuke.

Sasuke had landed next to Itachi and Sakura, he was a little hunched over letting out small breaths. He was also trying to control his angerat seeing Itachi and Sakura together again. When Itachi was even near her Sasuke grew upset.He was also starting to get very dizzy. He was losing way to much blood. But the Uchiha didn't care, he would fight on as long as he needed to. A few drops of blood fell to the ground from his injured arm. The Uchiha let out a big breath as he straightened up tall. The Uchiha brothers watched as Koizumi straightened up. Sasuke let out a small dissatisfied noise as he noticed the huge gash in Koizumi's face, which blood was slowly flowing from. The kunai had only grazed his face. That shinobi was able to dodge it at the last minute. But that gash in his face would no doubt leave a scar.

"Enough games" Koizumi stated unemotionally. Although he didn't care to mention that they had almost got him. Sasuke nor Itachi said anything as the Akatsuki leader continued. "I will not go down as these others have," He was referring to the other Akatsuki members. His pink eyes traveled specifically to Itachi.

"Although I would never have foreseen that you would betray this organization …most definitely not after how hard you worked to join." Only Koizumi noticed as Itachi's body grew tense. The former Akatsuki member never grew uncomfortable in any situation. Why was this any different? Itachi took a quick glance to Sasuke, then back to Koizumi, his unemotional eyes glaring even deeper. It seemed he did not wish for Koizumi to continue that thought.

Koizumi seemed to want to play off Itachi's uneasiness, knowing the tension his words would cause. He also took a slow glance at Sasuke, noticing the younger Uchiha was curious, but did well in hiding it. He seemed disgusted at the same time for some reason.

"I presume that killing your entire clan was not enough?" Itachi closed his eyes. Sakura's eyes widened as she was unable to contain a large gasp. She immediately brought her hand up to cup her mouth, looking to Sasuke for a reaction. Itachi had slowly opened his eyes as well, keeping them trained on Koizumi. It seemed he didn't want to look at Sasuke. He was waiting for Sasuke's reaction.

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes dangerously snapped to Itachi. They no longer held that emotionless gaze. Every emotion could be seen. Every emotion he had suffered over the years because of Itachi. The one that stood out the most was the fury. The disbelief at the newfound information.

Sakura couldn't believe it. Itachi had killed the clan to join the Akatsuki! He had destroyed Sasuke life, ended the life of all those people, just to join the Akatsuki? That couldn't be right. There had to be another reason. Itachi had to be hiding something. That man who claimed to be Koizumi had to be lying. No, she couldn't believe it! She wouldn't! Tears involuntarily invaded her eyes. Sasuke.

"I had believed it took much loyalty, determination, to do what you did, end the life of your own clan. Although the fact that you failed to kill your brother should have proven your disloyalty to me. I should have had you commit another, more heinous act. One that would have been much more difficult for you to perform, show how deep your loyalty ran. It was a mistake on my part." Koizumi expectantly looked to Sasuke, waiting for a reaction.

"_Ni-san! Why did you do this!"_

"_To test my capacity"_

That's what he meant. That's what he meant by capacity. His ability to become strong, to test how powerful he was. How willing. It was sick. It disgusted him. Infuriated him. Sasuke slowly began to feel the control he worked so hard for, slip away. He was fighting with himself to keep control.

Sakura watched as Sasuke bowed his head down. For some reason it scared her. She had a very foreboding feeling, it was choking at her.

"I always thought you couldn't stoop lower than killing your own clan.." Sasuke started calmly. Every word was laced with a cold venom. Sasuke turned his head a little bit, clenching his fists even tighter, trying to stay calm, still. Itachi had closed his eyes while Sasuke was talking. He sensed Sasuke beginning to shake, but just as soon he stopped shaking. He had very good control. Itachi slowly opened his eyes, looking at Sasuke.

"To join Akatsuki?..."Sasuke let a scoff in disbelief. His voice was low and surprisingly soft. "That's the reason?" Itachi's emotionless eyes seemed to waver as he stared at Sasuke, yet he said nothing. More blood started to fall from the wound on Sasuke arm due to the continuous, tight clenching of his fists. Sasuke couldn't stop the noises he heard in his head. The continuous crying of a little boy. The crying that sought to drive him over the edge of sanity.

"It's not true, Sasuke!" The desperate cry from Sakura didn't reach his closed ears.

"You left me alive…you let me live for this moment…" Sasuke's voice steadily began to rise as he found himself unable to control his feelings any longer. "I've hurt all the ones I care about," An image of Sakura and Naruto appeared in his head. "I've lived a life of solitude…I've hated you..I've detested you, I've lived on in the most pathetic way anyone can live…I've lived for this moment!"

Sakura felt him snap as if she was snapping herself. She knew the exact moment in which he had lost control, the exact moment he couldn't hold on any longer. Yet she couldn't speak, she couldn't move, she could only watch in horror as Sasuke attacked Itachi.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading! I hope it was ok! Anything you don't like?**

**Next chapters are going to be hella packed with action..not gonna give any spoilers..but yea**


	25. Chap 24: Sasuke's Hate

**A/N:** Thanks so much for the reviews!I would like to dedicate this chapter to an awesome reviewer : mtm123, this reader helped me come up with this next chapther, thus enabling me to get this chapter out this quickly. Thankyou!

**Warnings: **I've introduced a fighting song to tis fanfiction. Goukisan- Guitar vs. Piano. Freaking amayzing, and I urge you to listen to it at the time that I tell you to. It'll be in parenthesis. And I never use any songs that can't be found on Youtube.Please search it and play it, you don't regret it! Its a fantastic song, no lyrics, just straight up sick instrumentals.

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own the Naruto series…but I'm saving up!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 24: A Silent, Cold, Terifying Hate: Sasuke's Hate.**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Sasuke's unwavering and repetitive strikes were becoming too much for his older brother to evade and block. It was natural for the older Uchiha to only move when in defense of himself, studying his opponents moves before executing the right attacks to take them down. He couldn't read Sasuke's, and it seemed he didn't even _want _to attack. Itachi's eyes seemed to waver as he watched his little brother attack him time and time again; he had a completely different fighting style now. The older Uchiha could feel the intent to kill radiating off of Sasuke, his actions driven by complete rage, his power driven by complete hate. It showed in every part of his body, reflected in his eyes.

Sasuke had lost the continuous struggle to control himself, to remain calm as he had all these years.

"Fight me!" Sasuke ferociously yelled to Itachi. His attacks were getting even more powerful as he seemed to grow angrier and angrier with each passing moment, his attacks started to become reckless, yet controlled all the same. Itachi took a glance to the seal on Sasuke's neck. It was pulsing, the curse seal seemed to be trying to break out; though it seemed that the younger Uchiha wasn't too out of control as he still had the will to keep the seal from consuming him. It must have taken years for Sasuke to learn how to control it.

As the two kunais from each brother collided, sparks flew into the air before dissapearing almost immediately. Neither one let up on the kunai, they both tried to overpower eachother. Itachi was a bit surprised as Sasuke's strenght. They were equal in strenght, despite the age difference. Knowing that neither would be able to overpower the other, Sasuke and Itachi jumped back, high into the air preforming the exact same, familiar handseals.

The Uchiha brother's chests heaved up as Scorching hot flames were exhaled from their mouths. Two giant balls of fire collided, creating a huge explosion.The explosion was so huge it blew most of the ceiling away. The cloudy sky above could be seen, it looked as though it was about to rain. The fresh air from the outside was welcomed as it carried away the stuffy smell of blood from the room. Sasuke moved quickly through the smoke as he waited for the presence of his brother.

Sakura looked up to the sky which could be seen through the huge gaping hole in the ceiling. The weather seemed to match her mood, as well the Uchiha's. All the emotions running in this room seemed to be effecting the sky. Her wavering, heart-broken emerald orbs remained fixated on the rapidly darkening sky; she did not flinch as the first rain drop his her face, placing itself right below her eye, before slowly traveling down her cheek as a tear would.

Sasuke didn't flinch as the skies thundered, letting merciless rain beat down on him. It was a sudden and unexpected, but he welcomed it as the water washed off some of the mud and blood from his face. Sasuke raised his head up to the heavens, closing his eyes. The water slipped down his face, dripping off his chin at a rapid pace. The coolness it provided did nothing to cool the burning loathe inside him. However, the younger Uchiha seemed to realize what he was doing, he brought up a hand to slowly grasp the curse seal located at the base of his neck- the continuous burning sensation sizzling the area of skin around it made him realize even more th extent of his mistake. He was fighting recklessly, and it would stop now.

Itachi remained unmoving, his sharingan eyes continuing to observe Sasuke, eyeing him calmly yet warily.

He wouldn't be able to dodge or parry his little brother's attacks anymore.This was the battle Itachi had told Sasuke to live for. He would see just how much Sasuke had lived for this day, he would see how much Sasuke had developed over the years, he would see how much stronger Sasuke had gotten, he would see, which one of them deserved to live. All he would have to do was not hold back himself any longer. Sasuke would be the one to see the true extent of his power.

Sasuke slowly lowered his head, and a small moment transpired before he sharly opened his eyes, revealing blood red sharingan, more prominent than ever.

He struck then.

(Song: Goukisan-Guitar vs. Piano)

(Guitar solo)

Sasuke's multiple blows knocked the air out of Itachi's lungs, pausing him for a long enough moment to allow Sasuke to deliver a kick to his chin. He was sent flying into a wall, which was not exposed to the rain due to the part of the ceiling that still remained. Sasuke waited not one moment before charging again. Itachi immediately dissapeared from the crashing sight. When he reapeared he was already met with Sasuke's fist, he brought up his hand to catch it, immediately bringing up his other to stop Sasuke's other fist. Using his caught hands as leverage the younger Uchiha brought up both legs, slamming in his feet towards Itach's chest. The older Uchiha dissapeared in response, as did Sasuke.

They instantly met again, this time Sasuke immediately throwing a great number of repetitive, numerous strikes. Continuing with combos after combos- and Itachi could only block, dodge, or avoid. He swiftly moved his head to the side avoiding the first punch, doing so again to avoid the next. As a fist aimed for his abdomen Itachi parried with the palm of his hand, doing so again as Sasuke aimed another punch for his face. Sasuke jumped back before quickly equiping himself with a kunai- he then charged once again.

Itachi's calm sharingan gaze glanced behind him as he noticed a clone aiming an attack behind him, just as Sasuke, kunai at hand, was in the motion of stabbing his kunai straight forward. With incredible speed Itachi moved his body to the side, the clones fist still continuing to travel forward due to the momentum; the former Akatsuki member grabbed the clones extending arm by the wrist, furthering pushing his travel and he threw him into Sasuke's kunai. The puff of smoke presided with the dissapearance of the clone, signaling the Uchiha's simultaneous dissapearance as well. They reapeared together again.

It had taken a while before Itachi started fighting back.

(Piano solo)

Itachi did not stop as he started a combo of incredibly swift punches, each hit landing- some to Sasuke's face, some to his gut. Itachi delivered a final upper-cut of sorts, following Sasuke's travel as the force sent him slightly upwards into the air. Before Itachi could attack again Sasuke retreated, executing a backflip. Just as the tips of his feet touched the ground, Itachi was already upon him.

Sasuke dropped on all fours to avoid Itachi's powerful spin kick, executed a back-flip, leaving Itachi's fist to dig into the concrete. He continued to jump back, as Itachi came upon him aiming attack after attack- it was when the concrete wall neared a very close proximity that Sasuke stood his ground. Itachi continued with repetative strikes, leaving Sasuke only able to dodge, parry, or avoid. In a connecting strike, Itachi's palm slammed into Sasuke's gut, before a powerful kick sent Sasuke crashing into the same exact part of the wall that he himself had crashed into.

Itachi stood stationary, completley still as he waited for Sasuke to get up. The younger Uchiha calmly stood up, the dust, rocks, and debris falling off of him as he did so.

He stuck then.

Sasuke moved his head to the side as Itachi's aimed a punch; as his fist continued on over Sasuke's shoulder, the younger Uchiha wasted no time to grab his brother's arm , halting all movement as he prepared to bring forth his other arm in attack. Itachi allowed no split moment of time before he grabbed the hand that grabbed his, moving his upper body with enough force so that Sasuke's destination was at his will- in his decent, Sasuke prepared to slam his foot into Itachi's gut, but Itachi grabbed his foot with his free hand, his other still holding Sasuke's, and effortlessly threw his leg away in a way that caused Sasuke's body to produce a slight spin. He immediately let go of Sasuke, beggining to slam his fist into his younger brother's abdomen.

Sasuke dissapeared to avoid this, leaving Itachi's fist to dig into the concrete floor once again. An instant later Itachi executed a one handed back-flip from his crouched position as Sasuke aimed a kick for his head.

(Guitar and Piano together)

The echoing sound of two kunai clashing sounded the entire room. Itachi and Sasuke were located at the center of the room, and also the area to which there was no concrete ceiling sheltering them from the merciless rain.

It seemed to go in extremely slow motion as their bodies still moved from the momentum that had brought them together-Itachi retreated his kunai, a sharp slice-like noice sounding from their kunai's grinding in the process. The descent of each seperate raindrop could clearly be discerned, and their distinct splashes as they crashed upon the Uchihas' skin and clothing. Itachi leaned his head to the side, Sasuke's kunai moving in above his shoulder, the rain pounding on his kunai. Sharingan prounounced Itachi continued in his swirved motion, bringing his kunai back to him as he brought in in a straight thrust towards Sasuke's abdomen. Sasuke had already started leaning back and to the side, no facial expression as the kunai progressed closer to him, at what seemed to be an unavoidable pace.

Itachi's kunai pierced Sasuke's side.

The blood immediately began to flow from his side, mingling with the rain, the dilluted mix falling to the ground and washing away with the continous rain. A breif moment of pain passed across Sasuke's face, though he did not halt in his movement, bringing his kunai to embed itself into Itachi's shoulder.

It was then that the two dissapeared to opposite sides of the room. Itachi closed his eyes, his nose very breifly cringing as he quickly pulled the deeply embedded kunai from his shoulder. Sasuke only took the time to glance down at his wound before lowering into a fighting stance. They both dissapeared once again.

The Uchiha brother's started exchanging blows to one another, dissapearing and reapearing in various parts of the room. One moment they were fighting under the merciless rain, another fighting under the shelter of what was left of the wall.They kept dealing blows to the other, drawing more blood on both sides. Neither one stopped. Neither one held mercy. Both were slowly killing eachother.

Rain continued to fall down upon her greiving countenance, the drops of water blending with the salty tears that traveled down her face as well. Her emerald orbs were no longer wide, holding a greatly dazed look. They lasily transitioned to Koizumi he was watching the Uchiha's battle silently. He seemed to be waiting for something, a moment perhaps; the exact moment when he could attack. He had done this. It was his plan, from the very start- he was going to let the brothers kill eachother, if that meant avoiding to risk his own life, he would wait however long it took. He knew exactly what his horrible words would cause. He knew his words would make the brothers fight. His lies.

Itachi wasn't the man everyone said he was. He was innocent. He did kill many people, maybe even many innocents. Just like Sasuke. But he did not murder the Uchiha clan. He just couldn't have.

Sakura lowered her head, trying to calm herself down, yet it was futile. She didnt' know if she was shaking from the coldness of the rain, or the complete terror and worry she had for both Uchiha's. Sakura brought her head up to look at the Uchiha brothers. They were like fighting machines, not once showing much signs of them being incredibly week from blood less, tireless from strenous battle, and in pain from various wounds. But she could see the serious, cold expressions on their faces. And their clenched jaws.

They were reaching their limits, they were reaching their deaths. And neither had the intention to stop.

She kept looking back from Koizumi to Sasuke and Itachi, praying with everything she had that each moment Koizumi wouldn't attack. They weren't stopping. More blood was blurring her vision. Whatever had been holding her tongue, keeping her stationary, was not doing so anymore.

"Stop It!" Her cry bellowed from her throat as her eyes pleaded towards them. Both made no indignation as to hearing her call. She looked to Koizumi, noticing that his body became more tense, signaling his readiness to jump into the fight. She looked back to the brother's more greif in her eyes.

She felt light-headed. She couldn't speak, she couldn't breath. All she could hear was the continuous pounding of her heart in her chest, throbbing till the point of pain, along with her slow agitated breaths. She couldn't really feel anything anymore. She felt numb.

"Stop it.." She unconsciously whispered. She looked back to Sasuke and Itachi who were relentless in their attacks."Stop it.." This time her words were somewhat louder, in regular tone, yet still soft. She wanted them to stop fighting. Yet she couldn't think. She couldn't find the will to move her body. She had lost her will to do anything. The continuous pounding of her heart hurt. Her head hurt. Every part of her hurt. She wanted it to stop. She wanted everything to stop.

"STOP IT!" Her cry tore from her throat as she screamed with every part of her being, echoing through the entire room.

On que a bright pink light surrounding both Itachi and Sasuke, while a spherical pink colored-light appeared inbetween them. A gathering beam noise brefily sounded before a small burts of energy created a large explosion, rocking the buidling they were in.The Uchiha brothers flew in opposite directions, harshly crashing into walls on each side of the room-the force of impact on both sides caused a huge crater in the walls causing smoke to come up in clouds as they covered most of the room. The thundering sound of debris and large peices of the walls and ceiling falling to the ground breifly out-sounded the pounding of the rain.

The ground where Itachi and Sasuke once were supported a huge crater where the burst of energy had taken place.

Sakura's head had shot up on que to the explosion, wide eyes looking on his surprise at what had just happened. What she had just done. She could feel her body tingling, sizzling with the development of overwhelming chakra.

Koizumi looked at Sakura with wide eyes. He watched as she lifted her head up to look at Itachi and Sasuke. Her eyes were still an emerald color. She had tapped into the same power he could tap into, with her Shiyuki activated. But she had done something that even he couldn't do. She had wanted the Uchiha's to seperate, so they did. She didn't want to hurt them from the explosion so she sheilded them. And she had done so unconciously. Her chakra, her ability acted to her own wished, her will.

"Incredible." He muttered in awe, just under a whisper.

Question was. Would she be able to put it to use, use it consciously, whenever she wanted to.

Itachi had lifted himself up a bit, rocks and debris falling from him as he did so. His eyes transitioned to Sakura, with a gaze just short of suprised as he lifted himself into a standing position. Though he staggered, forced to lean on the wall for support. His face was slightly twisted from pain an exhaustion, however remaining emotionless. His sharingan eyes winced a bit before returning to their normal onyx color, something that was rare, as he never had to do so.

From his position against the broken wall, Sasuke turned his head to look at Sakura in disbelief. He moved to get up, but let out a small grunt of pain, grabbing his side. He moved forward to balance himself of his hands and knees. A few of his ribs were broken from the collision with the wall. He had lost way too much blood. His eyes returned to look at Sakura.

Both Uchiha's had lost their adrenaline rush.

Sakura looked distressed as she had to choose which Uchiha to run to. Only a few seconds had transpired before she ran to Sasuke. He let out a grunt of pain as she helped him stand. He slightly pulled himself away from her, staggering before using the wall for support. He only glanced to Koizumi before looking at Itachi once gain..

"Get out of my way, Sakura. This has nothing to do with you." He said his voice wavering in attempt to keep his temper under control. He was still suprised from her sudden outburst of energy, but more concerned with Itachi. "He turned his back on my clan, my family, to join the Akatuski." His voice was calm, but venemous. "He made his choice. And I'm going to make mine..he is going to pay for every pain my clan endured that day. For the pain he caused my parents. He's going to pay with his life!" He made a move to charge once gain, but Sakura grabbed him, throwing her arms around him in an iron-grip hug.

"Stop it! Please stop this Sasuke." She pleaded her words into his soaking wet chest. He paused, Sharingan eyes transitioning to her soaked pink locks."Does it truly matter? How do you know that's the real story? Are you just going to believe your enemies words? Don't you think he just said that so you two would fight? This was Koizumi's plan all along! And if you stupidly go along with it then we've already lost! He will kill you both!"

"You make it sound like I care if I live or die." Sasuke started. His voice was surprisingly calm, just as it always was. But again as the subject pressed to his brother, Sasuke was unable to steady his voice. "If that bastard goes down with me what do I care. Though I will be the one to kill him, not some pathetic Akatsuki leader. After I kill him, I have nothing else to live for_..Koizumi_ can do whatever the hell he pleases."

The resounding slap echoed throughout the room, boucing off the concrete walls.

"Don't you ever say that," Sakura hissed with her tearful gaze. "You know you have me. You also have Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei. You may have more than that Sasuke. That's enough isn't it!" Sakura cried out.

Her words seem to have awakened a boiling anger in Sasuke. He threw her arms off of him.

"I have you?!" Sasuke scoffed disbelievingly. "I have you, Haruno Sakura? What kind of sick joke is that? Your all over my god damn brother! What kind of sick and twisted person kills their own clan for their own, sick, personal purpose! What kind of sick person cares for such a man! You care for such a man? You disgust me Sakura! You disgust me!"

Sakura was shocked at she looked at Sasuke. A huge lump rose to her throat. This horrible feeling came to her stomach. She felt sick. Sakura could feel the hate radiating off of him. That's all she could feel right now, his hate. It began to fuel her anger, her hate.

"I _must_ be sick because I cared for you! The same, sick, twisted man who has killed so many innocents, both abandoned and attacked my village. Who has hurt me time and time again! Who doesn't show any care nor kindess to any living soul! What is wrong with you?! Is this how the Uchiha Clan worked? In the middle of a crisis they turn on each other? Were they only driven by rage? Did they all have vendettas? Did they have the slightest dignity to discern between right and wrong! Or did it not matter in the face of gaining power? If that's the case, if Itachi, this kind, respectful man, really did kill your family, we might as well thank him for killing such a pathetic clan!" Sakura's eyes widened even more as she realized what she just said. She took a shaky intake of breath, as she tried to hold in a sob. Everything seemed to stop for a moment, even her heart as her emerald eyes wavered in face of his completley still countenance.

She wasn't able to see the different emotions cross his face, only the shock, however momentary of a second it lasted. A stoic demeanor immediately took over, emotinless, raw, cold. Everything about him seemed terribly cold now. His eyes, his stance, everything. But for a second, just a second she had felt it all. She had felt it. As she looked into his eyes she could see the hurt. The amazing amount of hurt. A thousand people worth of hurt. Along with that hurt came all the other emotions within it. Anger, greif, irritation, shock, disbeleif.

Just as soon as she saw it, felt it, it was gone. He had buried it deep within his soul. Sasuke had found a way to shut her out. But, she could still feel one thing, she could feel it radiating off him. Sasuke was letting her see it. That one emotion. The hate. It was silent, cold. Terrifying. Sakura had never felt this much hate directed at her ever. It was the most horrible thing to feel in the world.

Sasuke's hate.

He pushed himself off the wall he was slightly leaning against.

"Aa." Sasuke began. His voice was extremely cold, biting. Colder than anything she had ever heard or imagined. It sent chills down her spine, it also sent a huge amount of grief. Sasuke seemed like a completely different person. "Your glad he killed my clan," Sasuke wouldn't even speak Itachi's name anymore. Nor hers. The whole time his cold eyes never left hers.

"N-No!" Sakura tried to start. She wanted to tell Sasuke she loved him, that she was sorry, that she didn't mean it. But Sasuke didn't let her continue.

"I'm not worthy of anyone's forgiveness, gratitude. But he is?" Sasuke looked away from Sakura, and up into the cloudly sky. "Conveniant for me, because I'm not looking for anything." His voice continued to be extremeley cold, monotone, voice of any emotion. The moment Sakura moved to touch him he started his own movement, a recoil of sorts, not letting her fingers brush any part of him. "Get out of my way." His eyes transitioned back to Itachi as he started walking towards him, kunai at hand. "Interfere again and I will kill you."

Itachi stood up fully.

"Sasuke." Itachi firmly called to his little brother, who's eyes snapped to meet his. "Enough. If you wish to kill me, wait until Sakura is out of danger."It was then that Sasuke let his eyes travel to Koizumi, as if he pondered the thought in his head.

"Sakura's protection is not something I'm concerned about." He let his cold eyes transition back to Itachi. "Leave it to the 'kind, respectful' brother who gives a damn about others' wellfare." His deep obsidian gaze traveled back to Koizumi. "He's wasted enough of my time, I want him dead either way."

"I am honored, truly honored, to be important enough to be fit into your busy schedules. "Kouzumi's amused voice rang throughout the room as he began summoning his own Shiyuki. "I'm glad that all of your family matters are in order. I just couldn't bare to end your lives knowing that there was still tension between you all. It would be impossible to live with the guilt." He didn't laugh, but the amusement and sarcasm could be easily recognized.

"It's over Koizumi" Sakura firmly stated, she would not let her emotions get in the way this time. It was her time to protect the ones she cared about.

Koizumi found himself almost frowning at Sakura's words. Her want to fight him. He found himself with nothing else to say.

Sakura was a bit curious about why there was no witty banter from Koizumi, thus resulting in an exchanging of quips, between them like there were in the movies. But then again this wasn't some fictional action story battle. This fight was real.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Was that okay? Like really, did i put too much drama in this chapter? I can rewrite some of the parts of this chapter if you readers think it would be better. My concern is basically with the whole Sasuke and Sakura fight dialogue. Did i need that? Or should i take that part out and make Sasuke not hate her?**

**But again just to remind you guys, no matter what happens..this is a Sasu/Saku fic!...Maybe XP**


	26. Chap 25: One Thing Leads To Another

**A/N:** Thank you soooo much for the reviews..wow..im like happy that I got so many. I love reading them, and im grateful that you all took the time to comment. It means a lot to me! Like always, I make these chapters for you readers, but this time I REALLY made this chapter for you guys. I put in everything I could to make it great…Not like I don't all the time..but.haha.

**Warnings:** Nothing that I can think of.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned the Naruto series would I be typing this story right now? Ya never know…but anyways..there it is.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 25:One Thing Leads to Another**

(o)

(o)

(o)

His seemingly contemplative, yet stern pink eyes met Sakura's.

Sakura kept her emerald eyes trained on Koizumi waiting for a response, an action, anything. She got none.

It was then that she felt the presence to her right, the source to which caused her transitioned eyes. Itachi, whose Sharingan still wasn't activated, his emotionless sharingan focused on Koizumi. It was the other presence to her left side that surprised her; she had to restrain herself from turning full body as she watched Sasuke step right next to her, his deep obsidian gaze trained ahead. She continued looking at him for a while, an unreadable expression crossing her face as a watery substance twinkled in her eyes. Just as soon as the moment had come, it was gone as she removed her gaze, closing her eyes breifly in a blink before re-opening them to look on at Koizumi.

_Thank-you, Itachi, Sasuke_

The room was deadly silent. Not even the calm, slow breaths from either individual could be heard. Only the last, long, exhale of a sigh that escaped her lips.

It seemed to go in slow motion as she took her first running stride towards Koizumi.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Kakashi watched as Tsunade ran out of one emergency room and went into another. For that brief moment he caught a glimpse of her face. She looked extremely tired, yet determined. If this continued, she would need to be the one in an emergency room.

It had been a few hours since he had returned to Konoha. He found that all the shinobi were in worst state than they had thought. Including Naruto, who was by far in the worst possible condition.

Kakashi wanted to take his mind off of things, so he took out his infamous "Icha Icha Paradise" manga. But unlike all the other times, his prized book did nothing to calm the chaos in his head, to even out his worry. He found himself not able to focus on the book at all whatsoever. Letting out a small, long sigh, Kakashi coveted his book in his back pocket.

As he leaned back, exposing his face to the bright light that hung limply from the wall above him, the faint traces of bags could be seen under his eyes, although it did nothing to down the his handsome looks, it was very noticeable.

As a few more minutes passed, he found his eyelids growing heavy. It was then that the usual enigmatic sensei remembered he hadn't slept for more than thirty hours. He didn't take time to rest, and he had taken two trips from Konoha and back, in an endless sprint. The continuous ticking of the clock eventually lulled the exhausted sensei into a dreamlike state.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

As she aimed a punch, Koizumi easily caught it. With amazing speed, Sakura brought her leg up from the side, using her knee to deliver a powerful blow to the side of his head. Koizumi went flying towards a nearby wall. Before he collided, Itachi was already on him delivering a few attacks of his own, right as he finished, it was Sasuke's turn. Koizumi met Sasuke's emotionless gaze as the Uchiha let a moment pass without action. Without a sound, Sasuke spun around, bringing his leg up to deliver a graceful kick, which finalized Koizumi's journey to the wall.

They all landed next to each other, waiting for Koizumi to emerge. Koizumi simply picked himself up from the crater formed at the bottom of the wall, walking slightly towards them. He seemed unhurt, and at the same time, upset. It was evident by his stance that he was going to start fighting now.

Sakura lowered herself into an unrecognizable stance. As she did so, a thin pink ring of chakra appeared on the ground around her, slightly flaring out like a flame. She closed her emerald eyes, reopening them to reveal glowing pink. She sensed as Itachi and Sasuke stepped back, seemingly deciding to let her fight the battle on her own. If she needed help they would provide it.

Sakura was grateful for that. Besides, the two Uchiha brothers were in no shape to battle again, they were severely injured, nonetheless exhausted, weak. She was lost on how the two came up with the idea that they would be able to fight, but knowing their blood, the Uchiha Clan, they would somehow manage it. Sakura diverted her eyes back to Koizumi. She scanned the area with her senses as she observed Koizumi in the motion of disappearing. It was silent as she waited, trying to predict which direction he would come from.

The right.

Sakura gracefully sidestepped, leaving a pink impression of chakra where she once was, however breif. Koizumi still had his arm outstretched as his he gazed at her unemotionally from the corner of his eyes. Again he disappeared.

This time Sakura was ready to counter-attack. She stilled herself, closed her eyes, again predicting his movement. At the same time, she summoned a bit of chakra into her palm. When her eyes shot open, they were glowing brightly as she shoved her fist upward, towards Koizumi who had just appeared. When it looked like her attack had made contact, with his amazing speed and skill, Koizumi met the chakra with his own. A small explosion in the midst of it caused the two to jump away from each other.

Sakura let out a small grunt of pain as she looked to the back of her hand. It was singed from the blow. She had been careless. It worried her how she wasn't in complete control of her chakra. She didn't know her limit, or what she could do, or how to do it. Maybe she could get ideas from Koizumi. Sakura kept her eyes trained on him in the midst of the smoke. She observed him, his cool stance, calm, not in the least bit scratched or trace of imperfection. He had waited till the last moment to react, and that still provided him plenty of time. It again reminded Sakura of how powerful he was.

She had to watch him carefully, do more than attack and dodge. She needed to map him, study his use of the Shiyuki. If what he said about her was true, Sakura would be able to overpower him somehow. She just had to be patient, observant.

Sakura gracefully jumped to the side to avoid the small shuriken stars that were throw at her. But immediately Sakura enforced her Shiyuki, letting a barrier of her own chakra surround her like a cylinder. A huge gush of wind sparked against the barrier immediately. It was divided in two by Sakura's barrier, moving past her towards the wall. A huge slashing noise was heard as the strong wind continued cutting through the huge cement wall. It kept on traveling through the forest as far as she could see. It was incredible.

She didn't see him do the hand seals, and he obviously didn't utter the words, she needed to figure out how he did that. Although it probably was mostly due to the amazing amount of speed. She had no time to think as Koizumi was upon her again. Sakura aimed a punch, her hand surrounded in a pink chakra. But Koizumi caught it with his own. A searing pain shot through her arms from Koizumi's strong grasp. He squeezed tighter, using his own chakra to painfully dispel the chakra in her hand.

Sakura swiftly brought out a kunai ready to strike Koizumi, who took out his own as well. Their kunai's clashed, letting out little sparks that disappeared as soon as they appeared.

So Koizumi had one of Sakura's fists caught in his, while their free hands were struggling to overpower the other. The whole time their eyes never left the others, as they calmly glared into each others eyes. Koizumi however seemed to have the upper hand when it came to strength, as he slowly began to overpower her. Sakura tried to keep a stoic face, but she wasn't able to stop the bead of sweat that formed on the side of her head. Koizumi however, seemed to be having no trouble at all. His face was completely stoic. No indication of strain whatsoever. Was he still toying with her? Had he really been toying with Sasuke and Itachi as well? Did she underestimate his power?

"What happened to the Sakura-sama all those years ago? As a child you displayed more powers, more potential. What have you been doing all these years? Fawning over a man?" Sakura listened to the tone of his voice. It held no amusement nor mockery. It seemed an honest, genuine question. One that irritated her.

She knew what he was talking about. She clearly remembered that night, the fire their hometown. She still didn't really believe it was her. But their was no mistaking it. Koizumi would have no reason to lie, and there was no way her brain could have made that all up to that excruciating detail.

It upset her that he was right. She had lost it over the years, even though she couldn't control her powers that night, at least she got a taste of it. She would have been able to tap into her power at will, learn how to use it. But she had been to sensitive, letting her mind bury the memory in an inaccessible place. Even when she could have strengthened herself in other way, had chose to fawn over a boy. Particularly one boy. One young man.

She dared not let her eyes search for him. But as her mind wandered back to Koizumi's prying question, it began to make her wonder what she had been doing all these years. Had she let him dictate what she wanted to be? Had she the desire to only become a ninja because she had found he was to be one? Was that the only reason then? What was the reason now? Why did she want to become stronger? Surely it couldn't be for him..could it?

If she had remembered the events that occurred all those years ago in Radiant garden, would she have been different? Would she had fallen in love with Uchiha Sasuke? Would she had even become a ninja? Would she still be less than what she wanted to be?

As she repeated these questions in her head, her gaze lowered away from Koizumi's. He seemed to have lessened his push on the kunai, maybe to allow her room to think? What was the purpose of asking her these things now? What was he trying to do?

Sakura shook her head trying to rid herself of these thoughts, it was only going to bring her down. He was just trying to fool her like he did Sasuke and Itachi, and look what happened to them. That's what he was doing, right? He didn't care about what happened to her right?

Sakura shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts. There was no turning back now. She would prove that she was stronger. She would get in touch with her bloodline limit like she did all those years ago. Her pink gaze shot up with a newfound determination.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

It had been about thirty minutes or so since he had fallen asleep, but to Kakashi it had only seemed like seconds before he was awoken by a weight plopping down on the seat beside him. Kakashi opened one of his eyes to lazily gaze at Might Guy/Gai. He opened both of his eyes as he observed the state the enigmatic sensei was in. He was leaning forward, elbow on each knee, hands clasped together, staring down towards the floor at nothing in particular. He looked as if he was about to cry.

For both of them, none of the shinobi in the emergency rooms were there students any longer, as that had been for a few years. But this group of former rookies had formed a bond with the sensei's that could never be broken. They still regarded them as just that, vice-versa. They were all like family. Coincidentally, Kakashi had declined the offer to train another team, as did Gai.As did all the other sensei's.

Three of Gai's "students" were in critical condition, where as for him, it was only one. Even though his other students were in far more danger Kakashi couldn't help but sympathize.

"They could still die…"Gai started. Kakashi kept his eyes trained on him. He was about to lean forward until Gai continued. Kakashi kept his stance, leaning back, one arm outstretched alone the railing of the bench. "This is by far the worst situation any of these kids have been in." Gai still couldn't help but call them kids, despite the fact they were all around the age of 18. "Why them, why not us? Where did we go wrong?"

Kakashi's eyes traveled downward, looking at nothing in particular. An image of Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura appeared in his head. It was the picture of them all standing next to each other. Even Sasuke had a slight smile on his face.

As soon as that image appeared, the three students separated, each being thrown in with another image.

Along with Sasuke came the images of Orochimaru and the Sound. Another came with the burning image of Sasuke and the curse seal.

As Sakura appeared in his head, the Akatsuki appeared next to her. The scenes at the clearing in the forest came too. He remembered the state she was in as he found her in the forest with the huge hole in her abdomen.

The fiery image of the Kyuubi appeared behind Naruto.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Tsunade hurried into the room to look at the medical staff with their hand placed on various places of Naruto's body. Which was hardly recognizable. He was continuously bleeding. Bright lights were emanating from them. They had been doing this for hours, they all looked exhausted. She recognized Shizune as her head shot up to look at her.

"Hokage-sama! I don't know how he's still alive, he has no chakra at all! He's freezing cold, and his body's not responding to treatment!He's lost way too much blood, even if we were to close up his wounds, were not even sure he would survive!" Tsunade's eyes traveled to Naruto's abdomen, the seal which once held the Kyuubi was no longer there.Her eyes widened, as a gut wrenching feeling overcame her. Shizune continued as she regained her breath. "Without chakra his body won't help him do anything! We are doing the best we can to keep his internal organs working, but we don't know how long we can last! His body is trying to shut down!"

As soon as that was said, the machine with Naruto's vitals started beeping wildly, along with all the other machines hooked up to him.

"Shit!" One of the men yelled. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to put more chakra into Naruto, which he didn't have.

"Blood pressure's dropping dramatically by the second!" A women started.

"The blood won't stop!" Another cried.

"He's not breathing!"

"He's going into shock!"

"Damnit Naruto!" Tsunade cried as she dropped next to him. She did a long series of handseals. "Fuin: Kai!" A sort of seal started to appear on her head. Yet only part of the seal was revealed, signifying it wasn't her genesis regeneration. But she was using part of her stored chakra. Which was still a danger to herself.

She slammed her fists into Naruto's body, and as it looked like that would harm Naruto, her fists repelled back as a bright, blue light emerged.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama…" Shizune awed. She had never seen Tsunade use that before, had she just recently learned this? An overwhelming amount of chakra was being used on Naruto, which she had never seen used in a healing chakra. A blue light surrounded Naruto's body like a second layer of skin. It was similar to the effects of the Kyuubi as slowly, all of Naruto's wounds disappeared.

However, he still wasn't breathing.

During the process, surprisingly, Naruto's eyes slightly opened. They were unfocused, his pupils not even visible. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. His eyes slowly closed again before the slight whisper was drowned out by all other sound.

"Sakura-chan."

Another noise joined the continuous beeping of the machines. The long, flat beep that signified his heart had stopped beating.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Sakura's eyes widened as she found herself falling towards the ground, she barely managed to break the fall with her hands.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and she had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked up expecting Koizumi to already be attacking her, but suprisingly he had stopped. He was a few feet away from her. Why wasn't he attacking her? What was going- Sakura had to focus on trying to push herself off the ground. But as soon as she did so, she collapsed to the ground again.

She was dizzy, feeling horribly sick. It was hard to breath. And it confused her. What was going on? Why was she feeling this way?She couldn't think at all. It felt like her heart had been ripped out .She slowly looked over to Sasuke who had paused completley in his movements, he stood stall, yet there was a slight curve to his back as it seemed he fought the urge to hunch over. She could see his eyes, wavering greatly as they remained downcast.

Did Sasuke feel it to?

"Sakura." Sasuke called. His voice surprisingly calm, void of any emotion. Icy cold. She let her surprised emerald gaze transition up to his, which was focused elsewhere even as he spoke to her. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair before bringing it down to rub his neck. This was a sign that he was overly frustrated.

"Get up."

She wasn't able to speak anything, she continued to look up at him a while longer, the corners of her eyes rimming with tears. She didn't know what it was that had made her collpase. Her gaze lowered to the ground, wavering greatly as she focused on no spot in particular. It was the red drop of liquid falling to the ground in her periphreal vision that transitioned her gaze to Sasuke. He looked like he could collapse right then and there; he had broken ribs, wounds all over his body, most noticeable the deep gashes in his arm and side, which were still bleeding. He was still standing, like a true shinobi.

"All these years you claim to have been trying to become a better ninja." He said nothing else to her as he released a breath before activating his Sharingan. His eyes traveled to find Koizumi. And without another word he attacked.Itachi took a glance at Sakura before joining Sasuke in the battle against Koizumi. Anyone who saw what condition they were in would beleive the two brothers were morons. They definately would not last long at all.

And they were fighting because of her. Because she was too weak to fight whatever emotions were bringing her down. Because of her, they could die.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Um this chapter didn't progress much, neh? should i start using lesser detail? P Hope that doesn't seem to half-ass, having to do with squeezing in in between school and all.**

**Is Naruto really dead? gasps..you shouldn't always assume since i cut off the scene.**

**But yea I'll try to get the next chapter out real soon Again, Ideas would be helpful!.**


	27. Chap 26: To Love Unconditionally

**A/N**: Thanks so much for the reviews! I would like to thank mtm123 for helping me come up with this chapter! Liek a perfect layout and everything. Aaand sorry for the long update, school pretty much sucks.

**Disclaimer:** So ive heard that the Naruto series has finally stopped showing filler episodes...if i owned the Naruto seies THERE WOULD BE NO FILLER EPISODES IN THE FIRST PLACE..so there it is.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 26: To Love Unconditionally**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Sakura watched as they battled. Despite their weakness and lack of chakra, the Uchiha brothers executed their attacks very well. Of course they would. They were pushing themselves beyond their limit, hurting themselves even more. Yet they were attacking relentlessly.

Any movement at all caused them to lose blood, looked like it caused pain, yet they did not wince, they did not falter, their minds were set on one goal. A goal that seemed impossible. Survival. Yet at the same time that wasn't really what they wanted, not for themselves. They were fighting for Sakura's survival.

With them fighting like they were, something in the form of a mistake was bound to happen, and it did. Sasuke had taken a glance at Sakura to see if she was still immobile. He didn't plan to look at her for more than a second, but that second was all Koizumi needed. He had shoved Itachi out of the way, which he was only able to do so, because of the condition the older Uchiha was in. But it gave Koizumi enough time to advance on Sasuke. The younger Uchiha barely managed to dodge the swipe of his kunai, which slightly sliced open his cheek. A lot of blood didn't come out, due to the fact that Sasuke had already lost a lot of vital blood.

He had been caught way off guard, and was unable to push the feelings of pain to the back of his head. Sasuke winced in pain from the movement and as he stepped back, trying to hold in a grunt of pain as his badly injured foot made hard contact with the floor. The pain stunned him for moment, sending a reaction throughout his whole body. He looked up, trying to refocus. Just as he did so, it seemed to go in slow motion as watched Koizumi make another swing for him. One he wouldn't be able to dodge.

She wanted to help, she needed to help. But her body was restricting her movements, this unexplainable feeling that had grasped her heart. She wanted to scream as she watched the events unfold. And as she looked at the people she cared for fighting, fear consumed her. Fear for them. Terror.

Sakura screamed as she watched Koizumi advance of Sasuke. Hey eyes widened even further as he fell to the ground, seemingly pushed. She let another sound tear from her heart. It was Horror that constricted her throat as she watched Itachi get impaled by Koizumi's kunai.

Sasuke looked at his brother in horror.

Sakura watched as Koizumi quickly took his kunai out of Itachi. The Uchiha dropped down to one knee, holding his hand to his abdomen, where the kunai had entered. He was drenched in cold sweat, his eyes squinting as he battled to keep his eyes open and focused.

"Why did you do that!" Sasuke exclaimed, enraged. He was furious that Itachi had taken the blow. He was furious that he had left himself that open for an attack. He couldn't help that streak of brotherly emotion that shot through him. He dashed at Koizumi aiming a strike, his hand armed with a kunai.

Koizumi easily caught Sasuke's hand, holding him in place, he slowly twisted Sasuke hand until he dropped the kunai.

"This is the path of all traitors," Koizumi started, his eyes moved over to Itachi. "Although, I am impressed. I had been aiming for your organs." Itachi had somehow maneuvered himself to avoid any damage to his organs, even though the kunai went deep. " Nonetheless you will die from the blood loss, I'm in no hurry for the either of you now." Sasuke, enraged, tried to use his other fist to attack Koizumi. But he simply moved his head out of the way, retaliating with a swift punch to Sasuke gut.

Sasuke was weak, disoriented, tired, but he kept fighting, kept trying to break free of Koizumi's grasp.

She had to do something. They weren't going to last without her. Not against Koizumi. She had to protect to protect them. Protect Sasuke.

Protect Sasuke? For what reason?

Because he always used to protect her?

Because he always did so of his own free will?

Just like it was his own free will to insult her in the middle of a life and death situation?

To express to her how much he hated her?

To remind her when she already knew?

For some reason the aching pain she was feeling for Sasuke, seemed to be numbing itself. The horrible feeling seemed to be hiding itself from her mind. Horrible. She couldn't help but think to herself, isn't that what Sasuke is? Horrible?

He always seemed to make it first priority to find ways to put her down. His words always accomplished that.

Annoying. The most common word of them all. Even after all these years that had separated them, it always seemed to be the first and last.

Horrible.

Weak. Another word directed at her. In his eyes, all her training, determination, seemed like child's play. She was nothing compared to him, anyone. To him, that was weak. That's all she was to him. Weak.

Horrible.

He would often speak of her uselessness and inability to contribute anything to Team 7. She was the one that prevented them from being great. The one that wasted their time and breath, wasted their protection.

Horrible.

That unforgettable night. The night she gave it all to him. Confessed it all. Begged one little thing from him. Cried for him. He gave her completely opposite. Rejection. Coldness. That night he stripped her of everything. Broke her.

There isn't a word describable.

A strong emotion overwhelmed her. It burned in her stomach with an intensity that could burn water. It erased the pain in her tired legs as if it never were. All these emotions she had been feeling just one moment ago, were pushed to the back of her mind, as if they had simply disappeared.

She felt no regret, she felt no grief, no pain. She didn't feel anything. The only thing that burned within her soul was a silent, raging anger. Hate. Spite. He shed no tears over her, he did nothing for her. Saved her life a few times? That's only natural of a ninja to do. Tried to kill her a few times? That's what Sasuke had done. He had almost succeeded as well. He didn't give a damn about anyone else. He didn't care. Just like she didn't care. She was through, she was done.

Her hatred for him seemed boundless. It did something do her unexpected.

It set her free.

She had her motivation now. Her glowing pink eyes traveled to look at Koizumi. A deep fire was burning in their depths. A warm sensation, its source stemming from the pit of her stomach, spread throughout her whole body. It felt like butterflies. Along with it came this overwhelming sense of power. No limitation.

Unconsciously, pink chakra was focused into her feet. She leapt towards Koizumi with unimaginable speed. Her love. It was replaced by anger, indifference.

It was her turn to not give a damn.

An orb of pink chakra formed in her right hand as she slammed it into Koizumi. He had seen it coming. Though on his face was that of curiosity. A curiosity that wondered if she had finally tapped into her inner power. That which he had only witnessed in the firey depths of Radiant Garden. The answer was obvious as he gaze traveled to her face, examining it even as his ribs cracked under the pressure of her fist.

Sasuke was able to free himself from Koizumi's grasp, jumping a few feet away. He turned to Sakura, his brow raised. He was waiting for her triumphant grin. That statement that sought to get his attention.

**I'm gonna prove to you that I've gotten stronger Sasuke-kun**

It never came, the cold silence seemed deafening to his ear. She said nothing. She spared him not one glance. Made him feel as if he was no longer there..as if her were transparent..unimportant. Her eyes were trained on Koizumi..no one else. No one else seemed to matter.

"Koizumi." Her tone was final. It spoke of settlement. It called for battle, for an end to everything. It warned the fact that one of them was going to die. And she would fight her hardest so it not be her.

Koizumi's split second of hesitation was evident, as clear as daylight. The emotions flickered within the depths of his eyes. Regret? Guilt? Dread? She wondered if she was really seeing it as he came at her, with an assault of combos of attacks. She didn't understand. But she chose not to care, pushing the unnecessary curiosity to the back of her mind.

Their kunai's clashed, sparks igniting from the pressure. Itachi and Sasuke took this as a queue for them to rejoin the battle. But Itachi barely managed to stand up, and Sasuke was easily swatted away by Koizumi with ease. Sakura and Koizumi's paid to heed to them. It was then the brothers realized they were being excluded from the battle. They weren't needed.

For the first time, the Uchiha brothers had no choice but to the helpless bystander watching from afar. It was new and foreign to them. Sasuke had found he had never seen a battle from this view. He felt helpless. Dependent on Sakura. As if his and hers positions were switched. He didn't like it, he didn't like it at all. He hated it. He had no control. If Sakura died in this battle, he would die as well. If she lived, he would live. He had no choice in the matter. He had no option but to depend on Sakura. All three of their lives depended on her.

He hated it. Itachi hated it.

The Uchiha brothers watched as Sakura and Koizumi jumped to opposite sides of the room. They were serious, wanting to get the battle over with quickly, there was one thing they could do. Their stances were easily recognizable. This was the blow that would decide it. The blow that would decide if they lived another day.

Sakura gripped the wrist of her right hand, letting her palm face the floor. Crackling pink energy encircled her hand. Koizumi mirrored her stance. The glowing pink light was illuminating his handsome face, showing the slight frown that etched itself there.

"I suppose great minds do think alike." Koizumi stated plainly. Indifferently. She even noticed the frown in his voice. He wasn't happy at all.

"I suppose.." Sakura answered. There was an odd air to the tone of their shortconversation. It was silent acceptance. Sakura was accepting what Koizumi had done. The things he had done since the day he left her. She accepted him. She felt no trace of hate or malice for him. She had nothing to fuel her will to kill him, only that she knew it had to be done. So she would do it. Sakura was hoping for a miracle, hoping she didn't have to do this. But she knew there would be none.

Koizumi accepted Sakura's need to fight him, need to end her own pain. He accepted that he could never be forgiven, that the only way to free himself was through death. But it was a natural reaction for his body to fight back. He needed to fight back. He hadn't completed his goal yet.

"_**I can't, I have to find them, make sure they are all gone. I don't care how many there are, I will kill them all." **_

"_**Those Sound don't deserve to live."**_

But they accepted each other at that moment for a simple reason. After this blow one or both of them was going to die.

They both refused to die without closure on their tragic history. On their past, things had become so difficult. Why did they become so difficult? So complicated? And as they both ran at breath taking speed towards each other...Theyeach were secretly wishing that things would go back to the way they were. To live the simple life in Radiant Garden. Together.

And as they clashed at the center of the room, they knew that it wasn't meant to be.

It just couldn't be.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Tsunade, the Hokage of Konoha, had no time to think. She had to save Naruto, there was no other option. No other option. He was going to live.

She would use a technique that she knew would most likely rob her of

her life. Yet it would give life to Naruto. Save his battered body and soul. He wasn't gone from this world, she was barely holding on to a piece of him. Preventing the tired shinobi from leaving the world. God damn her if she let go.

She began forming the powerful hand seals, despite the constant shrieking and begging from Shizune. They both knew this was dangerous extremely dangerous, this would most likely be fatal to her. Take he own life away.

But, that's whys she was chosen to be Hokage. She was Hokage. Because she loved Konoha and it's people.

It's why she would put up with all of that paper work that she hated so much.

It's why she wouldn't spend her days sipping her favorite sake and flirting with the local men at the bar.

It's why she worked so hard everyday. It's why she was doing whatever possible to save Naruto's life.

And as the last strips of her chakra flowed into Naruto, she smiled.

Her smile reached even wider as she saw him wince in pain as the life streamed back into him. His breathing becoming steady. She was glad she got to see his beautiful, deep cerulean eyes open, immediately focusing on her.

He was in the motion of sitting up, forcing his tired body to move, his wide eyes to reveal shock. To look at her as if she was crazy, confused. He bolted from his place, trying to reach for her, but his human body restricted him. It was too much strain for him as he fell unconscious again. One the medical ninja's caught him.

She smiled as she knew he would be safe. Whatever happened after this, it would be for him to decide.

Her smile didn't fade as she hit the ground.

It stayed in place as the world around her faded.

Because after this, whether she lived or died, she could truly call herself, a great Hokage.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Beep … Beep … Beep

The constant sound of beeping filled his ears. It wouldn't stop. The continuous sound seemed to try and lull him back to sleep. But the distant sound of crying reached his ears, pushing his will to stay awake, to open his eyes.

Uzumaki Naruto's eyelids slowly lifted up, revealing his deep cerulean orbs. She seemed to glitter as light in the room hit them. The sound of crying was instantly louder to him. The source was very close to him.

He tried to sit up, but found that it was nearly impossible. His body rippled with a sore pain. As if he had been completely reconstructed. He literally felt like he had been thrown back into his own body. Yet his mind was foggy and he could not remember what had happened recently. He knew it was something important, but he just couldn't' place it. He just blamed whatever drugs they had used, yet it unsuccessfully numbed his pain. He had no energy whatsoever. But he was content just to move his head towards the sound of the silent crying.

He was surprised to see Hinata, her arms resting near his shoulder. Her face was completely hidden from few as she cried into her arms. Why was she crying? He didn't know how to react, so he stayed silent, contemplating. When she cried it made him feel helpless. No amount of thinking let him know what to do. He smelt a very familiar smell as his eyes traveled to the nightstand. It was his favorite ramen, A slow grin made its way to his face, he was touched. Hinata had brought it to him. Yet his eyes traveled back to her form. He didn't care for the ramen right now, he would skip it for her.

He attempted to find his voice, noticing that it only came out as a whisper. He frowned at his inability to speak right. Hinata must have heard his continuous attempts to find his voice. She seemed to be right on time as she heard,

"Hinata, why are you crying?" His voice croaked, reaching a little bit higher than a whisper, but it was enough for her to hear.

Her pearl eyes widened, filling with tears.

"N-Naruto-kun!" She didn't think. It was totally unlike her. She couldn't' stop herself as she threw herself into him. Naruto felt her body heat as their bodies made contact. He could feel the way her tired, relieved body relaxed into his. The way it shook with even more tears. For some reason he didn't feel the pain her weight must have been causing for his body. The contact with her made him feel warm. It made him feel things that he couldn't' understand. He didn't try to. Because he liked it. They way she fit perfectly into him. The way his heart was racing and the feeling of his adrenaline pumping through his veins.

He couldn't get enough of it.

He felt her body stiffen as she realized what she was doing. She immediately separated herself from him, a huge blush rising to her cheeks.

"I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mean to w-wake you up!" Naruto smiled at the stuttering that had once again claimed her voice.

"I'll leave! I'm sorry!" Naruto felt panic seep into him for some reason as she said those words. He immediately reached for her wrist as she began to hastily stand up.

"No no stay. Please." He added in quickly. His voice was still rough and hoarse. Realizing how he was holding her, Naruto immediately let go of her. He looked back at her, letting a slow, shy smile make its way to his face. He used that same arm to scratch his head in embarrassment.

Hinata flushed at his soft smile, how cute he look when he was embarrassed. She slowly sat back down. Tying to get over the warm feeling of being in his embrace. She was embarrassed.

"I brought you Ramen." She said quietly too break the warm silence that was between them.

Immediately Naruto's eyes lit up, as he seemed to have forgotten about the ramen, which was totally unlike him. "Is it the kind you make?" He asked excitedly. He seemed to have finally found his voice. Hinata blushed. When she slightly nodded her head, she watched as his eyes lit up even more. Despite his grown, handsome looks (much like that of Yondaime) he seemed like a little kid.

"Thank you Hinata-chan!" He said brightly. The ramen had already been placed in front of him, the medical tray that easily swung over him supporting it. She watched as he struggled to sit up, with his newfound energy. He clumsily reached for the chopsticks, unsuccessfully doing so. His arm was numb, not really moving much. Yet with determination, he tried again and again. He strained until her warm, soft hand touched his shoulder.

"Please d-don't strain yourself, Naruto-kun." He noticed the confidence coming back to her voice, the many years she had worked on eliminating her shy stutter seemed to be intact. "I'll feed you if you w-want." She blushed further and Naruto felt his own cheeks burning pink. Butterflies seemed to fill his stomach as well.

When she fed him, there was a silence in the room. It was a comfortable silence as his eyes never left her face. The silence in the air seemed to tell Naruto all he needed to know. Surprisingly, he realized he had already known it. He just hadn't seen it. It was a wonder how clear and evident it was now. A new warmth seemed to fill him, warm the pit of his stomach where the butterflies were still dancing wildly.

He couldn't explain it. But this felt right. There really wasn't anything else he could use to explain it. It just felt right. He wanted to hold her again, feel the warmth of her body. His heart raced even as he thought about it. Their time was sadly cut short as a voice filled the room.

"Visiting hours are over Miss. I'm sorry but you must leave."

Naruto looked to Hinata, he could hear the sadness in her voice as she replied with a quick "Hai.".

As there eyes made contact for the last time that day, Naruto wished he could leave move so he could leave with her. His thoughts were broken as she embraced him gently, of he own will. It bothered him that he wasn't able to lift his arms, returning the embrace as he had done so earlier. His heart beat picked up again almost immediately. He figured it would be that way every time she touched him. He felt bereft as she left him, his eyes stayed trained on the door even as she no longer stood at its entrance.

He was going to ask her to come back tomorrow, but he realized he didn't have to. He kinda knew she would come again. He didn't realize how tired he felt until now. He coudlnt' help but fall into sleep's embrace.

He had remembered nothing of Sakura or Sasuke that day. And it was best. He need to relax and heal properly. The nurse slipped medicine into his water to keep him calm and tranquil. He of all people needed it. He had much news to take in.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The explosion was loud, deafening. All that could be seen was the shattered pieces of the stone from both the floors and walls. Smoke and dust had risen up, surrounding the whole room.

The Uchiha's were forced to shield there eyes until the bright explosion had subsided.

Sasuke found himself looking around wildly, a sense of dread and worry coursing throughout him. If Sakura died he would never be able to forgive himself. He would be losing someone he cared about again. He couldn't, he wouldn't let that happen. He was up and about, wildly searching for pink hair, the most prominent thing that would catch his eyes. And he saw her.

She was crawling, her arm covered in blood. She looked hurt. Yet, he found himself rooted to the ground as he saw her crawling towards Koizumi. Sasuke looked to see Koizumi, lying in his own pool of blood. He was surprised to see her place Koizumi's head on her lap.

"Why?" Sakura started silently. She wanted to cry. There was even a slight cry in her voice. But she wouldn't cry. They had already known something like this was gonna happen. She wouldn't disrespect him. But still she was upset.

"Why did you do that!" She yelled.

It was then that Sasuke realized that the blood on her arm was not her own. It was Koizumi's, the big whole in his abdomen was evident. He had let her thrust her fist through him. He hadn't even touched her…

"I couldn't do it" Koizumi started. He couldn't harm her, end her life. Everything about it was wrong. He was willing to forget his purpose for living. He would not kill her. He tried speaking again.

"Sakura, I tried to change. I tried to forget," he paused as coughs racked his body. "About you..I couldn't do it," He admitted. "I was lying to you..I wanted you to hate me, maybe then it wouldn't hurt so bad." It was then that Sakura couldn't' help the lone tear that fell from her face. It was the first that led many others down the path of her face.

"Why? Why didn't you just stay with me!" She cried the tears coming at a quicker rate. She was started to panic as his eyes seemed to be losing their shine. His lips quirked into a ghost of a smile.

"I've destroyed too many lives, Sakura. I cannot live with myself. I cannot."

"Let me heal you Koizumi! I can save you!" She cried as she lifted her head off of his chest and raised her hands. He shook his head, all he needed to do to stop her. She respected him enough.

"No, it is my time to go. I will go willingly." His voice was becoming

softer and softer. Sasuke felt as if he could actually feel Koizumi's soul slowly departing from this world.

He felt a gut wrenching feeling as he watched the two. Something in the form of jealousy. But it hurt. That was the love Sakura needed. He could never give her that.

"This isn't your fault Sakura. Be happy when I'm gone. Find someone. Don't find reason's not to love him. Follow your heart, it is the only thing to do. I made the mistake of not doing that long ago. So find him Sakura. Through better and worse, love him." Koizumi already knew it was Sasuke, that why he didn't kill him. "Have babies, five, eight, ten of them. Remember what you always used to tell me?" He joked.

Through her tears, Sakura smiled letting out a little laugh.

"I promise."

"Good." With all the strength he had left, Koizumi let his hand reach for her face, gently cupping her cheek tenderly. Sakura looked shocked but did not stop him from bringing her lips gently over his.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He found this pain deep in his chest. He didn't know someone like Koizumi could love someone so deeply.

It brought back memories of when Sakura and he were in this situation. How he himself had almost killed Sakura. Koizumi, a cold, ruthless man, the leader of the Akatsuki himself couldn't bring himself to hurt Sakura. Yet Sasuke easily did so. He had done it without remorse at the time. Was he that cold? Maybe he really was lost. Maybe he really couldn't come back. The guilt of that battle doubled and Sasuke felt sick to his stomach for doing it. And even more sick as he saw Sakura return Koizumi's kiss. She needed that kind of love. He couldn't never give it to her. She would never accept it.

As Koizumi passed, leaving the world for good, Sakura just sat there, staring at nothing in particular. She wasn't crying, just sitting there. She was actually smiling a bit. She let happy images appear in her mind. Of her and Koizumi. She would continue loving him, till the day she died. But the love, she realized would be only that of a sister or brother.

She would love another. She did love another. It hit her as clear as daylight.

Sakura looked behind her to see Itachi. He was already in the motion of picking her up, despite his injuries.

"Sleep." He commanded, she did not want to, but she was at a complete loss of chakra. Staying awake wasn't an option. Itachi began to walkout of the tattered Akatsuki hide out and Sasuke silently followed. Sakura's vision blurred as the glide of Itachi's steps began to lull her to sleep.

She stared at Koizumi's corpse, then at Sasuke's troubled face. He walked behind Itachi to keeping an eye on her, despite his obvious pain. She looked at Koizumi's body firmly for a moment, then switched her emerald gaze to look over Sasuke. Their eyes met.

"I promise."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**I hope ya like it! and thank mtm123 for giving me such a good layout for this chapter! The ideas were amazing! Till next time! Ja! Adios!**


	28. Chap 27: Unforgotten

**A/N**: Thanks so much for the reviews!

**Warning:** OK! Remember back in the chapter when Sasuke and Itachi first fought? The cool music that I asked you all to play? WELL there's differen't versions to it. The one for that one was _Guitar vs. Piano_. Then there's another version, 1.2, and then 2. The one that I would like to ask that you guys play for this chapter, of course when directed to, is _Guitar vs. Piano 2. _I don't ever give a song title that can't be found on youtube. So find it! D Oh, you don't need to put this in to the search, but they're all by an artist named Goukisan.

**Disclaimer: **Uhm…the contents in this fan fiction greatly differ form the Naruto series? I think that's pretty self explanatory…and does the Naruto series use awesome smart words like explanatory? ;) I don't think so….yep..there it is.

**Please Enjoy!**

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 27: Unforgotten**

(o)

(o)

(o)

The orange, multi-colored cover of a very familiar book did not obscure a certain silver-haired jounin's face from view as he walked the halls of Konoha Hospital. It wasn't hidden in the confines of his clothes either, instead it was discarded for the time being. His attire was completely different, not consisting of the usual jounin uniform. Threads of black laced his entire body; they were neat, professional, as if he had worn them for a purpose. His handsome face was melancholy; it stayed that way as he neared his destination.

As his hand reached for the door, his vision caught sight of the two people in the room through the small window. He let out a small sigh, pausing slightly before he would push it open. If this had been any other day, he would have come back at a later time. But this was a day he could not belate, a time he could not prolong. His head bowed for a second as he entered the room; he made sure to make noise as to alert the people inside of his arrival. Kakashi lifted up his head to meet the pairs of eyes that traveled in his direction. He did nothing to change his facial expression, there was no need to.

All of Konoha was weighed down by this unexplainable feeling right now.

"It's time." Was all that came from the lips of the usually enigmatic sensei. His eyes were trained on the two people in the room, who, like him, were adorned in the same opaque color.

One was in the confines of the bed, while the other was positioned on a stool nearby. Hinata's pearl eyes were trained on Naruto, portraying a look of sadness and worry. The said person's eyes lingered on his former sensei for a brief moment, his facial expression stoic; however, the small passing of time allowed this to change as his face slightly twisted. He let out a helpless noise between his gritted teeth, biting his lip to prevent any further obstruction. His troubled, disdainful cerulean orbs lowered to his fists, which were clenched tightly in the fabric of the sheet covering him.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Emerald eyes fluttered open, casting sight to the gloomy sky above her, its span covered in dark clouds, its sun out of sight. Exhaustion swept over her body as consciousness overwhelmed her. The temptation for bided sleep did not stop her from automatically flaring her senses out to find that she was alone. That same discovery motivated her into a sitting position, along with the distant sound of weapons clashing, and forceful body contact.

She bolted up onto her feet in correlation to the large cracking of thunder, waiting not one moment before she ran out of the forest clearing, and through the trees, using the battered trunks as a sense of direction- the destruction was clearly evident, lying theory to the battle that had started amidst the area.

Her heart was heavy, a gut-wrenching feeling tormented the pit of her stomach, her mind was in chaos, the tears were in the back of her wide, yearning eyes. Her thoughts were in mid wish, praying, hoping that she could get to her destination in time.

Before it was too late.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

There was a brief silence as a lone leaf blew past the brothers. Before the stray leaf returned to the ground due to the dying of wind, a single raindrop rained from the sky, hitting the green object spot on, and ending its flight.The skies thundered as the following droplets of rain started to fall from the sky in a slight drizzle; the lightness of it created a soft, harmonious tapping among the trees and plants, providing a soothing background noise that was audible as the sounds created by battle had breifly paused.

Itachi stood in a position stationary, much like that of Sasuke's. His entire countenance was cold, unemotional, stern. He was serious. His deep red Sharingan eyes were fixated on that of his brother's, who held the same demeanor, the same lethal stare.

The heavyness of the situation weighed on both the Uchiha's mind, the seriousness of this moment kept them alert, silent. They were both aware, of the deep meaning to this battle, the repurcussions that were much greater than life or death, kill or be killed; this concerned more than that of the terrible past that was between them, the need to end whatever it was that had separated them. It wasn't just out of pride, the need to test a certain capacity, to come victorious over the other. To prove one's worth. There was something else stacked upon the reasons they used to justify this battle. They were also fighting for something else. Someone else. This reason, this person, was on both their minds, yet, as it was a secret kept from the other, it was also underlyingly known by the other, mutually accepted.

The older Uchiha's lips parted to speak only one word, one command.

"Come."

It replayed Sasuke's mind like a over and over again. And he obeyed. He dissapeared, instantly reapearing in front of Itachi with a fist poised to the strike.The former Akatsuki member met the strike with a fist of his own.

A combo of attacks initiated between the two-strong, relentless, unwavering; they fought with perfect strides and attacks and evasions, not in any way affected by the wounds they had sustained only hours ago; they showed exhaustion in no form, they showed none of the consequences to significant blood loss. No emotion flickered in the depths of their eyes or gandered their facial expressions; no pain clenched their jaws or limited their movements. The Uchihas were cold, ruthless, unemotional fighting machines. Their reactions were based on primal instinct-survival-defense, offense. The want, the need to end all the strife and grudges that ailed them seemed to be the only intent, driving them, fueling them. Giving them the strength and endurance they needed to kill the other. It was an Uchiha Massacre.

It was sudden, when they broke apart, halting in their attacking of the other. The cause had just entered the forest clearing, grabbing onto the nearby tree to stop her advancement; she almost fell forward from the jerking of her momentum. The silence that had ensued allowed for her raspy, forcingly calmed breathings to be heard clearly. Her wide emerald eyes were wildly dancing between the the two brothers who did not return her gaze; her chest was heaving up and down with each deep, ragged breath. Her mind frantically searched for words, courage to speak them, will to support them. She found none.

A breif silence ensued before a voice sounded throughout the clearing.

"Sakura. Do not interfere." His every word held command, enforced with seriousness, spoken with a patience that was counterbalanced with cold montone. It was stated slowly, as if by automatic reaction. His voice seemed to echo within her mind, replaying itself as her brain sought a means to comprehend it, accept it. Find qualites as to identify the man standing before her as Uchiha Sasuke. The way he had spoken the command, the way he was standing, the way his entire mind, body, and soul were focused on the man standing on the other side of the forest clearing; the lack of emotion that directed him - this complete indifference - it was unlike him. This man convinced her with the suspicion that she really didn't know Uchiha Sasuke after all.

This man was a stranger to her.

It brought her to all the times he would call her annoying, or speak other words that belayed just as much - to the times when she would assume things about him, tell him things that he already knew. When she thought that she knew him, knew what he wanted, knew what would make him better. When she was ignorant of everything. His wants, his needs, they were comepletley different. She was very wrong, stupid in believing that she knew what was truly important to him.

This, this right here was important to him. This was the most important thing to him. This was what he had spent most of his life waiting for, hurting for, hating for, suffering for. This moment. This battle. This Revenge. His revenge. It was what he wanted, what he needed. He didn't seek happiness from this, he knew that happiness would not be gained.

Peace?

They both knew that peace would not be gained from this.

But they couldn't stop now. They didn't _want _to stop. A strong resolution had been set before them. Once, just this once, they needed to something that they wanted to - not what someone else wanted to. They needed to figure out what they thought was best - not what something else thought was. This was _their_ time to not waste with the wants and needs of others. This was their time to be selfish. Even if it would not bring a direct end to all the pain, all the hate, all the suffering, all the everything, it was a start. They both understood that. They both understood that only one would survive, or both would die.

Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, sworn brothers, men she had grown to care for and love..seekers of an end to all their suffering. She could do nothing but let them have it. She could not deny them this.

She could feel her own heartbeat, hear her own breathing. It all seemed to halt as she let out a slow, long, shakey breath; her still wide, distraught emerald orbs remained trained on the two brothers as she let her knees buckle underneath her, hands still grasping the bark of the tree as she lowered down to the earth. She used the tree to suppport her as her view slightly blurred, and as she lowered her gaze to look at nothing in particular, eyes wavering greatly.

There was a calmness about her distraughtness, a serenity about her despair.

One of them was going to die. And she could do nothing about it.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The white color of the picture frame paled in comparison to the vibrant colors surrounding the woman captured in the picture. The glare of the sun had hit her face perfectly, lighting up her features - glimmering her chesnut eyes, sparkling her pure white smile, playing with her blond locks of hair that were situated in pig tails. Tsunade - fallen Hokage of Konohagakure, the Hidden Village of the Leaf.

Her picture was placed in the center of a large setup, surrounded by numberous candles and flowers, centerized between a long line of pictures that held the images of other past Hokages. Not one had died of old age.

A few feet away stood a huge mass of people, neatly lined up in single files. It was silent, as all took the time to morn the loss of another great Hokage.All of them stood respectfully, not a single tear shedding onto their faces..

Why?

Why was no one allowed to cry? Why was no one allowed to mourn properly?

Simple rule. Simple code of conduct.

**_A ninja must not show emotion in any situation_**

A ninja must not cry, a ninja must not anger, a ninja must not cower. A ninja was a tool, a weapon of warfare, and nothing more. It was the code of the ninja, an idea that seemed so harsh.

Even so, the sniffling of the children and adolescents provided a background noise to the steady pattering of the rain that continued to fall from the sky in constant torrents. And as the skies continued to send pouring rain down upon them, it made up for the lack of tears. Made it seem that the sky was crying for them.

Uzumaki Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as his deep cerulean eyes squinted as he bowed his head down even further. His fists were clenched very tightly at his sides, his teeth nibbling at his lower lip in an attempt to muffle any frustrated sounds of greif. He looked to the side to see Shizune and a few others in their futile attempts to stop crying. He looked at them for a while longer before returning his gaze to the ground to stare at nothing in particular.

_Why..?_

The sound of beeping machines echoed in his mind, the feeling of chakra forced into him tingled his skin.

_"Tsunade-sama!"_

_"Get other medical staff right now!"_

_"She's not breathing!"_

_"I can't find a pulse!"_

He squeezed his eyes shut as he clenched his fists even tighter against him; his shoulders shook greatly as he tried to control the shaking of his body; however he wasn't able to stop the greif-stricken grunt that escaped through his grinded teeth.

_Why?_

Why did she have to throw away her life for him? Why did she adandon them all, abandon the village, just to save him?Why did she have to give all of Konoha another reason to hate him?

He glanced behind him on que to the hand that gently placed itself on his shoulder. Kakashi's solemn, empathetic look only served to fuel his guilt. And remind him of one of the people that weren't there.His former sensei seemed to act as a replacement to his current trainer, Jiraiya - he didn't show up today. The moment he got the news about Tsunades death he had left Konoha, even as he casually did so, it was obvious he couldn't stand the thought of finalizing Tsunade's death, seeing others mourn for her; perhaps he wouldn't have been able to follow the ninja code of conduct, hide emotion.

**Flashback**

"I need to get inspiration for a new book!" Jiraiya's cheerful, booming voice sounded his ears as his current sensei turned to face him, his usual cheesy grin and sparkling teeth framing his face. Jiraiya turned to continue walking out of the gates of Konoha.

"Oh," He stopped midwalk, this time not turning to face Naruto. "I already snuck in to visit her, said a few parting words. I had to chastize her for bailing out on quite a few of our bets." He let out a small chuckle. "Technically its the first time I've ever won any."

"Old man.." Naruto was about to say more but Jiraiya contined.

"So I don't plan on being back in time for her funeral. Do me a favor and make sure they don't bury her next to any sake wells will ya?" the tone to his voice was humorous, though he almost seemed to hesitate before continuing his next words. "Just cause she's dead doesn't mean she gets to cheat and start the habit of drinking again!"

**End Flashback**

Like he said he wasn't here. He wouldn't be surprised if Jiraiya showed up the next day, complaining about how he barely missed it..when really that was his very plan. He couldn't blame him. No one wanted to be reminded of the fact that she was dead, and that all this ceremony proved to do. Maybe Jiraiya wasn't even able to face him yet, face the one that took Tsunade's life.

Took away the one person that mattered tohim the most.

His cerulean eyes transitioned to watch in silence as Tsunade's name was engraved on the blue malagnite stone. Her name was solely put there to be remembered for all time, as the other names encrypted on that stone were. There were many names on that stone. Of brave shinobi, Hokages, names worth remembering. But for some reason, her name seemed to be the most important. The one they mourned the most. They would not forget.

Tsunade-sama, the fifth Hokage.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

(Song: Guitar vs. Piano 2)

The rain was starting to pour down even harder now, muddying the earth underneath and between them and creating a solemn background noise as it pattered among the contents of the earth.The younger Uchiha did not flinch when the skies thundered and the heavens opened up, letting even more merciless rain beat down upon them. No shiver racked his body as the cold rain made contact with his skin. His cold Sharingan eyes remained locked on with the cold Sharingan eyes of his brother as the rain dripped off their chins in a constant stream.

It seemed to go in slow motion as the two took their first, silmutaneous running stride - they then dissapeared, immediately reapearing in the center of the forest clearing, the halfway mark of the distance that had seperated them. The force of the impact of their connecting fists created a powerful wind that greatly swayed the trees and plant life around them. The two retracted their fists, other parts of their bodies moving in for seperate attacks -while their other fists were still retracting they brought up their another fists. Their fists connected again.

Sasuke dropped into a crouching position as Itachi brought his leg up to kick him; Itachi did the same after, causing Sasuke's foot to move through the air. The two then swiftly took out a kunai, charging again.

It seemed to go in extremely slow motion as their bodies still moved from the momentum that had brought them together-Itachi retreated his kunai, a sharp slice-like noice sounding from their kunai's grinding in the process. Sparks flew all around them.The descent of each seperate raindrop could clearly be discerned, and their distinct splashes as they crashed upon the Uchihas' skin and clothing. Itachi leaned his head to the side, Sasuke's kunai moving in above his shoulder, the rain pounding on his kunai. Sharingan prounounced Itachi continued in his swirved motion, bringing his kunai back to him as he brought in in a straight thrust towards Sasuke's chest. Sasuke did not lean back as he brought up his kunai to meet Itachi's. Resultant was the very loud clanking noise that accompanied the clashing of their weapons.

They remained there, in a calm struggle to over power the other - the kunais made the accompanying noises as the two forces slightly moved them in a steady grinding motion against the other. Their emotionless gazes never left the other as the soles of their sandals started to sink into the muddy earth before them.

Itachi's lips parted, his calm, monotone voice seemed to echo throughout the whole forest.

"Hate me, foolish little brother, detest me, show me what it is that you have gained." Then, with excellent speed, he retracted his kunai, returning it to slash at Sasuke, who manuevered his kunai to block, this force caused Sasuke to jump back, and Itachi followed him as they continued to slash time and time again with their kunai. Sasuke continued to jump back with a swift gracefulness, meeting Itachi's kunai with his own time and time again. It was after another moment that the younger Uchiha dissapeared. Itachi followed suit, reapearing as he did, kunai already in a swinging motion.

And when Sasuke met the kunai with his own once again, Itachi did something different. With unimaginable speed, another kunai was already in his other hand, immediately starting its descent towards Sasuke.With amazing reflexes and speed, Sasuke's hand shot out, grasping the kunai before it could go any further. His eyes did not waver, his hand did not wince as the blood started to flow freely from his hand, mingling with the rain.

After brief eye contact, the younger Uchiha kneed his older brother in the gut, sending both of them falling towards the ground. Upon the thudded contact, Sasuke aimed another punch, only for his fist to meet the ground as Itachi disappeared from underneath him.

Sasuke had no time to stand up as Itachi came at him, kunai at hand. It seemed to go in slow motion as Sasuke leaned back, hands shooting out behind him as he prepared to execute a back-flip from his position on the ground in order to dodge the kunai. Time did not allow this to take place.As part of his cheek was in the motion of being cut, Sasuke's hand shot out grabbing Itachi's foot. He immediately brought his other hand on the older Uchiha's foot. Leaving no pause, he spun around once before throwing him towards a tree.

Itachi simply catapulted off the tree, landing on all fours. He went for Sasuke again, with a kunai still at hand. Sasuke ducked, causing Itachi to swipe at thin air. Yet just as quickly, Itachi bent down and aimed a powerful kick at Sasuke, who was only able to block. The blow sent him flying into a tree, back first. Upon contact with the tree, its splintered in half, the momentum driving Sasuke causing him to continue on to the next few trees in the same manner.

There was a silence as Itachi stood tall, waiting for his brother to return. A few moments of time allowed the sight of Sasuke casually walking out of the path of destruction his body had created. He walked slowly, menacingly, his entire countenance cold. He then came to a stop as he was back in the clearing - this seperated them to opposite sides of the clearing once again.

Sasuke said nothing, but as he pulled out out a kunai swiftly, throwing his arm out in front of his face in an unnecesary manner, it signified that he was not happy.For the first time, a cold glare took over Sasuke's gaze. However, his countenance still reflected calmness. Perhaps it was no longer the same way on the inside, if it ever had been.

He was the first to strike that time. Without a word.

Sasuke bolted from his position, moving at a faster speed than he had before. Itachi matched his speed, blocking and aiming a few of his own attacks. The Uchiha brother's started exchanging blows to one another, dissapearing and reapearing in various parts of the clearing. They kept dealing blows to the other, drawing more blood on both sides. Neither one stopped. Neither one held mercy.

Rain continued to fall down upon her greiving countenance, the drops of water blending with the salty tears that traveled down her face as well - the combination of the two steadily dripping down her chin an a nearly constant stream. Her emerald orbs were no longer wide, holding a greatly dazed look as she continued to watch the two brothers fight.

They collided at the center of the clearing again, each struggling to overpower the other's kunai. Their Sharingan eyes met in an icy stare.

"Not enough hate, Sasuke. What have you been doing all these years? Playing ninja?" There was no mocking tone to his voice; he was completley serious.

It was then that both Uchiha's glanced to the pink-haired kunoichi soaking on the ground for the first time.

"Lusting over Sakura-san?"

"I'll kill you!" Sasuke harshly whispered as their kunai's continued to grind together.It was obvious the growing abhorrence, ever escalating. In a burst of speed Sasuke's free hand shot out, grasping the hand of Itachi's that held the kunai. Holding that hand stationary he ended contact with the kunais, bringing his to stab at Itachi's abdomen. With surprising swiftness and with his wrist still in Sasuke's grasp, Itachi moved his lower body to the side, just in time for Sasuke to jab into the rain-covered air. Without stopping movement Itachi used the momentum of his held fist to bring his legs up in a backflip - as his legs came up, the kunai was kicked out of Sasuke's hand, flying into the air above them. When his feet returned to the ground, Itachi's used his freehand in a continuing burst of speed to slam into Sasuke's chest.

This sent the avenger flying into a large boulder that rested behind him; his body greatly indented the large boulder, though it did not crumble. Sasuke slid to the ground, catching himself with one knee on the earth, his other leg bent up to allow his foot hold on the ground, his hands supported him on both sides. He remained there a moment, his chest heaving as he coughed out blood onto the blades of wet grass; the rain immediately washed it away into the soil. He then slowly brought his upper body slighlty up, moving the arm on the same side as his upraised leg, to rest on his knee, preparing to lift himself up. His face remained obscured from view.

Itachi spoke once again, the tone of his voice slightly louder as to reach Sasuke's ears across the clearing, and sound over the noise of the pounding rain.

"This is the shinobi our parents brought into this world?" Sasuke's head snapped up as Itachi said this. "The little boy then had more potential than the man before me now." However cold and emotionless his voice was, the former Akatsuki member let disgust and dissapointment seep into his words. "A disgrace to the Uchiha clan name."

Sasuke bowed his head once again.

"However one thing is the same," Itachi continued. "You still remain a coward..you still remain weak."A small silence ensued after Itachi's cold words, the pounding of the merciless rain served as the only steady source of sound.

As if on que, the lone kunai that had been kicked into the air moments earlier fell to the earth, clanking into the earth.

"You know nothing about me.." Sasuke's words came abrupt, cold, harsh - barely above a whisper but at a tone high enough for Itachi to hear. His voice was menacing, laced with venom.

He slowly pushed himself off the ground, the accumulated water from the rain falling off his body as he did so. Itachi eyed him as he raised into a standing posistion.The younger Uchiha's fists clenched, even as the mud remained; the rain soon washed it away. His face still remained obscured from view.

"You know nothing of my suffering.." He slowly reached into his clothing behind to him to pull out a kunai. "You know nothing of what I've done, what I've endured to get here..all that I have sacrificed." He slowly positioned the kunai in front of his face, holding it out before him in the standard way a shinobi would in battle stance. Upon closer look to his body, the water continuously washing down his body was diluted red, signaling to the open wounds underneath his clothing, deep wounds, constantly bleeding. "You know _nothing_ of who I am.." The kunai he held in front of him started to shake uncontrollably as a small silence ensued, signaling to the abhorrence, the emotion that was reaching its peak.Just as soon, it stopped completley. He released the hold on the kunai, letting it fall out of his grasp. It seemed to go in slow motion as the kunai fell to the ground. It produced a small thud as it did so.

It was then that his head shot up, his Sharingan more prominent than ever.

"You know **_NOTHING _**of my hatred for you!" This belowed out of the pit of his stomach with every part of his being, his words echoing through the forest clearing. One que the skies roared with thunder as Sasuke charged Itachi. Mid running stride he dissapeared, no moment passing before he reapeared in front of Itachi, fist poised and ready to strike. He caught his older brother off guard, jabbing his fist into Itachi's face. He left no moment after his feet touched the ground before he kneed Itachi in the gut before shoving his fist upwards into his chin.

He dealt blow after blow, not stopping, letting a blind fury haze him. He left no opportunity for Itachi to protect himself. However, it was undeterminable if Itachi would have even done so if given the chance. He seemed stunned at Sasuke's words. At the same time he seemed accomplished, as if, until now, that's what he had been striving for, trying to bring out. Those words.

Sasuke's hate.

As if that had been his major goal all these years. An end to his own suffering, such a thing that would only suffice at his death, not the killing of his little brother. He was through fighting.

Sasuke landed a powerful kick to Itachi's gut, sending him on a path towards the ground. Splashing in the mud until he came to a halt in his momentum, Itachi slowly stood up, waiting for Sasuke to come to him again. The water washing off his body and onto the ground from the rain was diluted the same red color as Sasuke's.

The process was repeated a few more times as Sasuke continuously punched Itachi to the ground, as the older Uchiha kept picking himself up, staring back at Sasuke with the same calm stare, with the same releived countenance. He let the Sharingan fade from his eyes.

"Fight me, _Itachi_!" Sasuke aimed another punch, sending Itachi to the ground yet again. The avenger followed his punch through, staying in that same position with his body slightly hunched over; deep, slow, ragged breaths heaved his chest. His sharingan eyes were trained on Itachi as the older Uchiha struggled to get up. For a breif, very subtle moment, something sparkled, twinkled in the corners of his eyes. The anomally was blinked away just as soon as they had threatened to come. That watery substance.Tears.

Sasuke quickly walked towards Itachi, letting his older brother stand up fully before punching him again. Only this time he rode down to the ground with the former Akatsuki member, assuming a position on top of him as he continued to punch him time and time again.

"Fight me damnit!" The words seemed to tear from deep inside of him, rumbling out of his throat in a furious frenzy. He was trying to get a reaction, anything from Itachi. Though he got nothing from his older brother, not even a hint as to the amount of physical pain he was possibly in, emotional pain. The only movement made my him at all whatsoever was to move his head back into position after each punch, and to occasionaly spit accumulating blood out to the side. His calm, yet solemn eyes peirced through Sasuke's core.

"Why?" This was the first subtle note in which the younger Uchiha's voice cracked. His inquiry was genuine, confused, upset. He continued to punch his older brother as if doing so would provide him with the answer. It was clearly obvious that he was becoming more breathless by the second, hopeless by the second. His punches were becoming slower, less powerful. His anger slowly abading, and distraughtness ever growing.

"Why wont you..fight me!" He could hear Sakura's loud sobs echoing inside his mind, the merciless rain was starting to retreat into a slight drizzle, the pattering of it hitting the surface of the earth more soft -almost soundless, allowing for the pink-haired kunouchi's cries to become clearly audible. The watery substance sparkled in his eyes once again.

The sun was starting to peak out of the dissapating clouds, shining down a few rays of light upon the forest clearing; as the blue sky fought for prominence, the small rainbow still hidden partly behind the clouds started to appear.

The sharp blade of the kunai flickered in the rays of the peaking sun as Sasuke quickly brought it above his head.

It was then that hesitation took over his body. He had also looked into Itachi's eyes for the first time since his rampage, and what he saw suprised him, upset him, confused him. Like always the older Uchiha's expression was calm, but there was also a flicker of sadness, releif. Could it have been releif at the thought of his own death?

The younger Uchiha was shaking considerably, his face twisting uncontrollably.

His deep obsidian eyes opened wide when Itachi swiftly brought his hand up towards his little brother's face. It seemed to go in slow motion as he did so; he paused a few inches from his face.

Itachi then flicked Sasuke on the forehead.

Sasuke recoiled, squeezing his eyes shut from the stinging of the skin on his forhead. This lasted momentarily as his eyes opened again, wider than before, wavering as they transitioned down to Itachi, who had long since retreated his hand. The older Uchiha gave him a small smirk before slowly, calmly closing his eyes in preperation for the killing blow.Sasuke's arms were still held up high, kunai grasped tightly as his arms began to shake uncontrollably.

It was then that the first tear traveled down his face, rolling the farthest it could under his chin before falling onto Itachi's face. The contact caused Itachi's eyes to open as he looked at his little brother peculiarly, solemnly. He slightly parted his lips to speak.

"Do it, Sasuke." His command was spoken firmly, his tone emotionless, yet urging. Tempting Sasuke to obey. Another moment passed, and the sound of the shaking kunai accompanied the distressed grunts that Sasuke tried to hold in.

"Damn you!" He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out agitated cry as he brought the kunai down with all the force he could muster.

It missed Itachi's head by a few centimeters.

There was a breif moment of silence as the realization of what just happened sunk into everybody's minds.

"..Foolish little brother.." Was all Itachi replied in a whisper; his eyes were closed now.

"Chikuso!" Sasuke started striking the older Uchiha again, cursing with every punch. He was considerably exhausted by now, and tears started to drop from his face at a rapid pace.

The tears only fell from her emerald eyes in greater amounts as she watched the emotional Sasuke continue to try and pummel Itachi.

He couldn't kill him. After all the years of training, suffering, sacrifice; after all the years of swearing, after everything, he couldn't kill his older brother.His revenge, his personal vendetta..it was no more. The bond that connected the two Uchihas, the love that ran between that, it could never be broken. And it was something neither had realized until this moment.

Sasuke had tried to aim another punch, but instead his fist fell to the ground on the side of Itachi's head. He lowered his own head, squeezing his eyes shut as a helpless grunt escaped through his gritted teeth, resultant of him trying to hold in his sobs. Itachi had slowly opened his eyes to look at his younger brother for a few moments with a calm, yet unreadable expression across his face. With another moment he closed his eyes once again. The lone tear that traveled down the side of his face went unnoticed.

Sakura made her way next to Sasuke, and she stood over him,her yearning, sympathetic eyes contemplating action. Without looking at her or speaking a word, all the while keeping his face hidden from view, Sasuke removed his fist from the side of Itachi's head, retreated his body from his brother's side. He was turned away from Sakura, on his hands and knees; he attempted to rise, but wasn't able to, rather from emotion or physical exhaustion.Realizing this, his figure slightly slumped as he lowered his head to rest in the mud between his hands.

He seemed to sense her walk towards him again.

"Please.." She had pausedas he said this, realizing thathe was asking her to stay away, he was trying to keep his emotions under control.

Staying silent as more tears fell from her face, she continued making her way towards him, placing her hands on his hunched shoulders. She could feel him shaking terribly. "I..I couldn't do it.." His voice was quiet as he spoke this just above a whisper, his tone slightly high with frustration.

"Oh Sasuke.."She immediately sunk down next to him, pulling him into her arms;he automatically wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as he buried his head into her thighs.It was then that the first muffled sob was heard. She brushed her hands through his wet hair in an attempt to comfort him - she couldn't do anything else, just like she couldn't stop herself from crying with him.

"..It's over Sasuke." She couldn't help it as a smile started to curve her lips, even as her face was twisted with greif. Even as the tears continued to fall down her face; however, they seemed to be that of joy.They were both alive. They would be ok. Sasuke's revenge was done. Everything was finally over.

She couldn't help it as she let out a small laugh, hugging Sasuke even tighter as she continued to cry.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The room was dark and very musty. The old, stained walls had a brown rusty look to them, seemingly from water. Droplets of water were dripping from the ceiling all throughout the passageways. Single swaying lamps dimly lit up the hallways that lead to a room. The door was metal, and rusted to the max. Muffled voices could be heard inside.

The room itself was even more gloomier than the hallways, yet, a sort of bluish light eliminated throughout the room. The sound of beeping, like that of a heart monitor could be heard. There were round tanks suspended to very high tech looking machines. Inside was a strange jell blueish substance.

He was looking at another figure in front of him. The figure brought a single hand up to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, as he smirked at the figure in the chair in the corner of the room.

In the shadows a bright, golden eye was glowing.. The rest of the figures head was wrapped tightly in bandages; a few peices of hair sticking out. Evil just seemed to be eminating everywhere from that one person. Or could it possibly not be a person at all?

A very amused,wicked sounding voice could be heard throughout the whole room.

"No..things have just begun."

* * *

**Thanks for Reading! **

**Hope ya enjoyed it! I know I enjoyed writing it. Idea after Idea just popped in my head this chapter, it was soooo exciting!**

**Ja ne!**


	29. Chap 28: Time Factor

**A/N: **Man…I really need to start picking up on this whole updating thing..I've been slacking off! And for that I'm sorry! Readers Block, anyone?But thank you so much for the reviews! They make my heart smile. But That was a hella long ice age huh?

Dudes..seriously, all my ideas are like going out the drain, actually scratch that. They would be going out the drain if I had any ideas..but I don't….I feel like a rapper without his rhymes..or a fat kid without his sandwich, or Carlos Mencia without his DUR DU DUR..(DEE DE DEE?) …talk about having your head up your ass…no sunshine up there.

**Warnings: **Link, you know, the like bestest bestest super hero of all time..the only guy who can pull off the sexy man tights..oh baby.. is off limits..he can't be shared I'm afraid..especially now that I'm considering having his fake lil 3D babies.

**Disclaimer: **If I was as good as the owners of the Naruto series, I would be updating a chapter every week, like they do with their episodes..But I'm not..unfortunately, sooo long updates they are, or actually WERE I vow to stop the extremely long updates this very moment! Fo sho.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 28: Time Factor**

--

--

--

In a familiar home, there were no left-over ramen cups, nor articles of trash, or other substances amidst the glossy floor. It was completely clean. It was completely quiet. A lone figure sat upright against the head of a bed, his cerulean eyes searching for nothing in particular outside the window. He had long ago discarded the upper portion of his clothing, leaving only his orange jumpsuit pants to clothe his lower body. One leg was outstretched, resting limply on the bed, the other bent up towards him, acting as a stand for his arm, which also hung limply.

His free hand was brought up to his chest, fiddling with what looked to be a pendant. It was a gift from someone, or more so something he had gained from a bet long ago. It was treasure to the one he had gained it from, as it was now a treasure to him.

Naruto's silent, contemplating countenance was a great counterbalance to the brooding one inside. His mind was full of questions, full of memories, doubts, negative emotions. Worry and pain clouded his soul. He felt despair. He felt anger, wonder. But something that got him the most was that he was not alone. He was not alone. Even now, after all that had happened, he was not alone.

Nothing. Nothing was like it was back then, when he was little. When he was hated, feared, pushed away. The whispers in his memories, they were not like that of the ones now. The talking behind his back, the speculation. They were of a different kind. There was always a reason, even now. But was it not reason enough?

His cerulean eyes traveled down to his abdomen, looking for something, hoping for something. Just the bandages that wrapped his bruised body. Just skin. His belly button, and his tan, toned abs. There were no colorful, intricate designs of a seal; the ones that indicated to the beast held within. Naruto almost let out a troubled grunt as he looked away, trying to focus on something, anything.

He was not hated for the beast that had been inside him. He was not hated for failing one of the most important missions he had ever been assigned. He was not hated for causing the death of a very important person. A leader, the hope that was this village. A Hokage. Tsunade-sama. Actually, as he contemplated it more, he had caused the death of two Hokages. Yet this time, he was not hated. He was not under speculation. The whispers, they were that of pity, sympathy.

_That poor young man_

_He must feel awful_

_What's he going to do?_

_Is there anything we can do to make him feel better?_

_I can't imagine what he's going through_

_Just give him space_

_Buy him some ramen_

They weren't whispers that called him a monster, that expressed hatred and discontent about what he had done, what horrible things he had caused.

It confused him. Why? What good had he done? What had he done other than destroy and kill? Why did he deserve the village's sympathy? Why did he still have friends that tried to support him? Why?

He couldn't stop Sasuke. He couldn't save Sakura. He couldn't protect the people he cared for the most. He couldn't get over everything and just be his normal self. He had failed, at everything.

Everyone had already recovered. Why hadn't he?

His thoughts were interrupted as light knocking sounded the door. His cerulean eyes lazily looked over to the door, but he did not move. He didn't want to see anyone right now, he hadn't seen anybody for days, and he had no problem with that. The door seemed far away anyways.

Though, he was intrigued at how light the knocking was. It was a great counterbalance to the pounding and yelling coming from people like Kiba and Ino. It probably would have been even louder if the person was Tsunade knocking. Naruto let out a small laugh, though it was very dry, and he scoffed at himself for thinking about it. He didn't finish the thought.

There was a slight pause before the knocking commenced again. There was another pause.

"..Naruto-kun..?" The voice was extremely soft, it reminded him of..

Hinata..

On reaction Naruto was ready to dash to the door, but something held him back. He looked at the door for a long moment, finally letting out a sigh as he slowly pushed himself off the bed. He silently made his way over to the door, reveling at how comforting that light knocking was.

He looked at the door knob, telling himself to turn it, to open the door, but he couldn't. He leaned his head against the door, closing his eyes.

He wanted to see her. But he couldn't. He didn't want to risk losing her to death as he did with many others that he got close to. He wasn't going to. He rejected others who would come to his door, and he would do the same with her.

Yet he felt like cursing the door for being there, for separating him from her. There was a pause in the knocking again; it was a long pause, a very long pause. But he knew she hadn't left, she was still right on the other side of the door, he could feel her.

--

There were tears in Hinata's eyes now.

Naruto had locked himself up in his home for days now. He hadn't eaten, he hadn't slept. So many people had come trying to knock down the door, yelling and screaming at Naruto to get over it and come out. But he wouldn't answer.

He was taking all the blame on himself. For everything. When it wasn't his fault, none of it was.

Hinata raised her fist again, but she paused for some reason, contemplating whether she should knock again. She was probably annoying him, and she didn't want to do that. She should just go. What had she been thinking? She looked down at the bowl of ramen she had been holding in her other arm. Then she looked at the numerous untouched ramen bowls on his door step.

With a sad sigh, Hinata bent down and did her best to pick them all up, trying to balance them. She let out a small gasp as one of the bowls of ramen started to tumble over. But it didn't meet the ground, not even a drop fell from the bowl. Kiba was already there, giving her a slight smile.

"Let me help you with that, Hinata." He took a few of the bowls from her. Kiba took a look at the door, seemingly glaring at it for a moment. He had tried various times to get him to come out, he had stopped the other day though.

"T-Thankyou, Kiba-kun…" Hinata hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked over at Naruto's door again.

"Hinata, He'll get over it eventually, just give him time." Hinata did not take her eyes from the door, but she nodded quickly, giving Kiba a quick "hai".

"Lets go?" Kiba offered.

Hinata shook her head in a yes, without muttering a word. She walked up to the door, touching it gently for a moment, before turning away.

--

Naruto turned his back to the door, bowing his head down.

At least Kiba could take care of her, he was sure he would. But that thought did nothing to help the frustration in his mind.

After a moment, Naruto slowly lowered to the ground, leaning against the door. He tilted his head back towards the ceiling, letting out one last sigh.

-------

Neji slowly retracted his hand from the tree in front of him. He twirled his hand around, stretching out his wrist. He punched again, this time with his other fist. He did the same twirling motion as he did with the other.

The tree in front of him had a few scratches and dents in it, but nothing all too bad. Neji had been going easy on it. Or more to say, going easy on himself. It had not been long at all since he had been let out of the Konoha hospital. He needed to stretch his muscles out and test his strength. Though he was a little disappointed at the slow pace he had to go. Throwing one punch brought a sore pain throughout whatever body part he had been using. Nothing that made him scrunch up his face, just soreness.

So, here he had been for a few hours, slowly stretching out every muscle possible. Trying to get his body back into shape. It had only been a few days since they had gotten out of the hospital from critical condition. It had been a few days since everything had happened. The failed mission, the Hokages death.

This time Neji aimed a kick towards the tree, the impact seemed to echo throughout the whole forest clearing.

"Neji?" The said person let his eyes travel to the Kunoichi traveling towards him from the side.

She had a slight limp to her walk, but other than that her body looked perfectly healthy. No pale skin, pursed lips, bags under her eyes, her breathing was normal, her eyes calm and content. She was twirling a kunai naturally in her hand, playfully, on reflex; if she wasn't it usually meant something was wrong, and if the rate at which she was twirling the kunai was fast, it also meant something was wrong. But it was moving at a nice, even pace. Neji looked away as his small checkup came with satisfying results. It had become so natural to him to check for any abnormalities in Tenten's behavior or appearance.

"Tenten." Neji replied in greeting. He spared her a glance before continuing with his training.

Tenten walked towards a very wide tree, placing herself in front of it, legs bent up towards her as she sat down. She seemed to be contemplating something.

"Hey Neji?" Neji slightly paused, before continuing pounding the tree, showing that she had his attention. But just as soon as he had started, he stopped, and gave his full attention to her. He had noticed her voice and composure had changed. And as his gaze shifted to look at he downcast eyes, he could see that they reflected her emotions, showing that she was troubled. He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he decided to instigate.

"What?" Neji asked.

His simple word seemed to snap her out of whatever train of thought she was in. She looked up to him, and with a slight smile, she patted on the ground next to her. He paused for a moment, but then casually made his way over towards the tree Tenten was leaning against, and sat down next to her. She continued smiling, most likely wanting to change the subject, but Neji knew her too well. And he preferred finishing things, rather than pushing them aside.

"What?" He asked again, his eyes trained on Tenten. She looked back at him, noticing that he was curious, and knowing that he would not accept anything else but an answer. For a second she lost herself in his beautiful pearl eyes. Realizing what she was doing, she cast her eyes downwards, knowing that Neji's eyebrow was now lifted.

"I don't know- I just- I was wondering was all." She knew she had his full attention, so she continued. "Naruto.." She sensed as Neji leaned back against the tree, showing his discontent. He was still listening though. She knew she was pushing it bringing up Naruto again, but she was worried. She knew Neji didn't want to hear much more of it; it had gotten to the point where even Neji came to get Naruto out of his place. He had said some pretty nasty things.

But, Naruto, he wasn't just hurting himself, but everyone around him. They always used to complain, moaning and groaning whenever Naruto would be around, or just plain grimacing at his name. It was just Naruto. But at the same time, having him not around was even worse. It absence seemed to deepen the mood of everybody.

Konoha just wasn't lively anymore.

"..How long do you think he's gonna stay locked up in there?" Her chocolate brown eyes traveled to Neji's which were somewhere else.

"I don't know, Tenten." Neji immediately said, almost cutting her off. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it. Tenten's eyes shot down to look at the kunai she was fiddling with in her hands. She was clumsily messing up her turns each time, trying to get back on her rhythm.

Neji noticed this, and let out a small sigh.

"Sorry." He started. "It's his choice to stay locked up in there, and it'll be his choice when he gets out." He had planned to stop there, but noticing Tenten's head slightly lower, he continued. "Everyone just needs to do him a favor for once and leave him alone for a while. He's had too much on his shoulders, he just needs a break. He'll come around.. Especially with this war going on, he's not the type to sit around idly if we were to come under attack any time soon."

Tenten understood what Neji meant, and she was surprised that she hadn't thought about it that way. She decided to just forget about it for now, and take Neji's "advice". Letting out a small sigh, she leaned against the tree, bringing up both knees to her chest. Her eyes were locked onto the blue sky. She closed her eyes, letting out a small smile as a small breeze swept through the forest clearing.

"I wish I was the wind. So simple, relaxing. It just moves through, with no worries. As free as can be."

She giggled at Neji slightly cocked his head, not having the slightest clue what to say to that.

"What would you be, Neji?" She looked into this pearl eyes, which were elsewhere. He seemed to be thinking. "Anything." She added. He took a while to contemplate. Tenten sat patiently waiting. It was quite comforting just being in his presence..she could wait forever..

"A rock." He finally said. The tone to his voice was soft, but solid, sure.

"A rock?" Tenten repeated. She was puzzled at his answer. She giggled a little bit.

"Of course, Neji the impenetrable rock." She expected Neji to share her humor, anything, but he didn't. He seemed serious, yet relaxed. He continued.

"It can get stepped on, thrown, sink to the bottom of an ocean, but it would never be broken. It would be alone. Yet it would stay in place, strong and sturdy. Having nothing to fear, only the wind."

Her eyes were trained on Neji, noticing that he seemed to be contemplating to say more. As if there was great conflict. Tenten didn't get was he was saying, but for some reason she could feel butterflies rising in her stomach. Her throat felt dry, her heart, pounding, was in her throat.

"Only the wind?" Tenten managed to shakily force out. It took a while before Neji continued. His eyes were focused on the ground.

"It would think it was safe, nothing could influence it. Nothing could change the way it was, it would just move on, getting stepped on without a worry. It was cold inside and out, and it was fine with that. But the wind would unexpectedly come. Gentle, swift. Moving it, changing it.. It's only weakness…when it thought it had none. It tried to hate that weakness..tried to remove it..but it found it was actually nice not to be alone.. that it was nice to feel…and if the wind were to suddenly go away, almost as suddenly as it had come..the rock wouldn't know what to do. " Neji finished, though the whole time he had not taken on glance at Tenten.

Without a second to spare, Neji stood up from his position against the tree, and continued to train, as if nothing happened. Yet his mind was in havoc. He was chastising himself for slipping like that. How idiotic, using and aphorism to explain..to explain how..unexpected things were..how.. unexpected she was to him. Maybe she didn't get it anyway. The look she was giving him when he said it though, it made him uneasy.

Tenten sat in that exact same position, her eyes not leaving the spot where Neji once was. She felt like she couldn't breath, and she felt this warmth, just growing inside of her. Was she dreaming? Was what Neji just said…Did Neji basically just?

_Whoa Whoa, slow down girl, he didn't say anything like that..just that.._

She looked at Neji, who was focused on attacking the poor tree. Yet she felt herself smile, as she could she him slightly shaking his head every now and then. She felt like screaming out in joy, jumping up and down. Her insides were practially melted. So what it wasn't a proclamation of love. But it was a start. It was cute. And the way he had explained it, using the rock..it was just..amazing.

_Neji.._

She was practically beaming. But taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down, and stood up.

After a while, Neji brought out a kunai, his goal for it to embed itself dead center in the tree.

As he expertly flung his wrist, the kunai departed with amazing speed. As the kunai seemed to make contact with the tree, the loud sound of metal meeting metal could be heard. As soon as Neji's kunai had begun to embed itself in the tree, another kunai had come, and at a much faster speed, it dug right into the center of the tree, all the while knocking Neji's kunai to the ground.

Neji glanced over to Tenten; she had a hand on her hip, while the other was twirling another kunai around playfully. She had a cute smirk on her face.

"One on one?" She offered.

Neji responded with a small smirk.

--

"Shiiiikamaru-kuuuuuun….." A soft voice cooed, in a seductive way. Enticing, screaming for the works of a favor it seemed. There was a slight pause, as if the holder of the voice was waiting for something. A response maybe?

"Shikamaru." The voice was stern this time, sounding a bit perplexed and questioning. Another silence passed.

"SHIKAMARU!!!" Ino yelled this time, pushing the holder of the name off the long bench where he had laid. He let out a small grunt as he made contact with the ground. He rose into a sitting position, silently cursing to himself as he rubbed the side of his head.

"What." He snapped back in an impatient, yet calm voice. His agitated gaze traveled to Ino's. Her baby blue orbs seemed to gleam. The aggressive girl disappeared and was replaced with the same enticing, cunning demeanor from before. She seemed to be scheming something.

_Troublesome girl.._

"You should come down to the flower shop with me..hang around for a while." She simply said.

Simple enough, you could do plenty of things down there, hang around, stare up at the sky. Do nothing, you would just be down near the flower shop. Cool right? But Shikamaru knew Yamanaka Ino. Things were never that simple.

She wanted something. More to say wanted him to do something. A favor. She knew he was lazy, and would not want to do it, so how was she so sure he wouldn't say no? Because she was Ino that's why. He couldn't say no, no matter how much he wanted to. His health and safety were on the line.

"And do what.." He said with a hint of annoyance as he rose to sit back on the bench. He leaned back, his eyes trained on the blonde kunoichi.

"Well..we can have fun! Manage the flowers, sell them to customers, the works! It so totally beats hanging around like a lazy moron doing nothing!" Ino chirped, trying to make this "favor" sound fun.

"Why would I want to do that?" Shikamaru started, already knowing her answer…and he liked hanging around doing nothing…it wasn't so bad. Favorite hobby, anyone?

Ino, knowing Shikamaru wasn't buying it, decided to put back her normal demeanor, but it still beamed with a cute type of hope. Like a child staring at an amazing toy through the store window. Yet, this was Ino. There was a sort of gleam behind it all, it seemed threatening. This was her plan A, and if Shikamaru wouldn't accept, then plan B would be a lot more painful. And Shikamaru knew that.

It wasn't that he was scared or anything.. He just didn't like hitting girls. He just did not hit girls. Simple as that. And he knew that Ino knew, that he knew that she knew that.

"The guy that usually helps me, is out sick today! I think he's totally faking it!..slacker..and.." Shikamaru noticed how she cut off, quickly saying something else. "..aaaand there's just way too much for me to do all by myself, especially now that so many people come."

Shikamaru had a feeling she was about to mention Sakura, who always helped Ino out when the "slacker" was sick, which was almost every other day. The failed retrieval of Sakura was a big thing for Ino, and now especially when it's not sure where she is, if she's even alive. It was hard to say exactly how Ino felt. She was doing fine though, and that was good.

But he could tell that her demeanor seemed to change again. She was thinking sad thoughts again. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. Letting out a small sigh, Shikamaru lowered his back to the bench resuming his laying position.

"Alright Alright. Just give me five minutes.." He said.

Almost immediately Ino beamed. "Great!" She had began to jog back down the hill, but stopped, turning around once more. "You better come!" That was her version of a threat.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, sighing yet again while breathing out "How troublesome." Yet, he almost let out a small grin.

For some reason, it felt like it was his assigned job, more to say mission, to make sure Ino was happy. It was a lot of work for the titled "Lazy guy", but..it really wasn't all that bad. It was troublesome..but..not so bad.

--------

"When will we be ready?" The lips of the holder of the voice were the only parts showing. They seemed to be twisted into a wicked type of grin, one very familiar. The remnants of a small fang-like tooth could be seen if there were to be a closer look.

"Forty-two hours at most," The figure replying paused slighty to articulately slide his glasses up the ridge of his nose. They seemed to gleam as he did so, reflecting a gold sort of light in the shape of an eye. It seemed to come from the figure sitting down in front of him. "They're already excited..which caused a few problems, though it's already been taken care of."

A small, dry, amused chuckle could be heard. "It is to be expected. I find myself sharing their excitement. Do you not as well, Kabuto?"

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama." There was another slight pause. "How much time do you have left to obtain him?" He questioned, gravely.

"Time enough. He will come to me, it is simply in his nature. And he would be denying his existence were he to refuse." Orochimaru let out another, queasy chuckle.

Kabuto almost seemed to grimace, yet if he did, the shadows of the room obscured this from his face.

------------

"Enough, Sakura-san." Itachi spoke a bit softly, yet all the while in monotone. It seemed it was not the first time he had spoken words similar to that. Yet this time his hand reached up to the one planted lightly on his face. As soon as the contact was made, the glowing blue chakra flowing from the hand dissipated.

Watering emerald met stern Sharingan.

Both their hands were still suspended inches away from Itachi's face, Itachi's light grip holding back Sakura's shaking hand.

"But-."

"Enough." He spoke again. This time a bit quieter.

Letting out a shaky breath, Sakura slowly retracted her hand from Itachi's grasp, letting her body fall back onto the ground from her knee position. Tears were definitely in her eyes now, and she cared not to stop them. Itachi's wounds were great in number and in size. But Itachi wouldn't let her see them, he wouldn't take off his huge Akatsuki cloak. She had barely managed to get him to let her keep her hands on his face long enough to take off most of the bruising.

But it wasn't long enough for her to get that deep cut that ran along his cheek. It would now scar if it wasn't treated.

Thinking of it made her heart churn more. She didn't want to leave him like that.

"Sakura." At his call, her body turned around halfway to look at Sasuke, a few feet away. He was looking at her impatiently, yet with finality. And he had the right to. Though, it did surprise her how patient and calm he was, even with the circumstances they were under. It definitely must have been hard from him. He had let her do what she had wanted (try to heal Itachi's wounds, the works), even though he had been ready to take departure more than 10 minutes ago.

Sasuke had stated that he was gong to take her back to Konoha, reiterating that she'd "get lost and have an embarrassing death" if she went on her own. She didn't know why he would even offer, but she took the chance and accepted right away. Of course, he most likely had other things to do, explaining the "hurry" he was in. Or he may have even just wanted to separate himself from Itachi; it would be reasonable, as the whole situation must have still been bothering him.

She wanted to stay longer, but the tone of voice and look Sasuke was giving her clearly explained her inability to do that. She felt torn. She quickly looked back to Itachi, trying to convince him to let her check his wounds while she still had time left

"Go." Itachi said. He and Sasuke made brief eye contact before the older Uchiha stood up, leaving Sakura the only one on the ground.

"This is a dangerous time for you. Remember that." He spoke again, seemingly out of the blue. And seemingly to no one in particular. Sakura almost lifted up her eyebrow at his words, not understanding what or who he was referring to. Yet the younger Uchiha understood perfectly what he had meant. They're eyes met yet again, and they shared a type of mutual agreement, an understanding.

**Flashback**

"The three years of time you have has expired. He will come for you, or as confident as he may be, expect you to come to him. Keep a distance from him, Sasuke."

Sasuke, like Itachi, was standing, slightly leaning against a tree. Though the younger Uchiha's arms were crossed, and his eyes closed. Yet after hearing Itachi's words, his eyes slowly opened to meet his. Their deep Red Sharingan eyes were glowing brightly in the night.

"I will not run from him. You underestimate me." Sasuke's eyes burned into Itachi's, it seemed his pride was still intact. His voice was cold and stern yet showed no defensive or arrogant tone. He was serious, and he wanted to make that clear. He was Sasuke. And he did not run. He wasn't weak as he was then.

"Then you can guarantee that he won't touch you." Itachi started, definitely stating it more than asking. He said this to make a point, much like Sasuke had earlier. Sasuke did not answer, his Sharingan eyes still glued to Itachi's.

"You would deal blows to him without him having the slightest chance to counter, or grab any part of you. You can be so accurate, so swift, as to take on him and his allies without becoming overwhelmed, without getting trapped. Without giving him one opportunity to seize you."

Again, no response came from Sasuke. Only this time his head turned, and his eyes closed.

A brief silence ensued between the two brothers

"You make it sound as if he would take me easily. Then he could take you just as such. It was you he had wanted from the beginning." Where before Sasuke would have snarled at the thought, now his facial expressing did not change, and his eyes were still closed.

"He lost his chance the day I left Konoha. He is afraid of me. As I am sure he is of you. Do not let this information fool you. He would take your body just as easily he would perform a jutsu," Itachi's gaze lingered on the area he knew the curse seal was located, before letting them travel back to Sasuke's turned face.

"You bear his mark, and that is why."

Sasuke's eyes opened, refocusing back on Itachi.

"One second. That is all he needs, little brother, and he will have you."

**End Flashback**

Sakura slowly stood up, taking one last look at Itachi before hurrying close to Sasuke. She watched as the two brothers shared one last glance, before Sasuke turned away and started walking out of the clearing.

Sakura looked after Sasuke for a moment, before turning her gaze to look at Itachi.

"Take care, Sakura-san." He politely said before turning to walk in the other direction.

"Please..stay alive." Sakura whispered before quickly making her way after Sasuke. She doubted she would ever see Itachi again, if not anytime soon. She just hoped with every part of her that it wouldn't be that way with Sasuke.

* * *

**DA DA DAAAAA!!! Chapter finally finished!! Thanks a bunch of cinnamon streusel muffins for reading!!**

**Angst much?**

**Hope this chapter wasn't to cheesy and lame. Basically i hope it doesn't seem like it came from too far up my ass. Hope you can except it!**

**Sooo you're probably like cool, another chapter, but BOO, gonna have to wait another iceage of so before the next chapter comes out, right? WRONG. The next chapter is already halfway finished, and should be done around the weekend, or at the most in a weeks time. Can I get a HOORA?**

**Yeppers..so yea Itachi is basically out of the picture for now..will he be back in the later chapters? You'll have to wait and see….(BUT DUR..this is definitely a Sasu/Saku so don't get any ideas like that. He's not gonna ruin the whole romance fluffy party) Itachi just might pop up for some other big reason..fo sho…You might actually be glad to see him that that point in the story**

**Yea..so reviews would be pretty amazing at this point..please drop a line!**

**Hasta Luego!**


	30. Chap 29: Beautiful Disaster

**A/N: **Hey Loves, thanks a bunch for the reviews! And I'm really greatful for you all really stating your opinions, it helps me out a lot. It's like giving a rapper a beat so that he can come up with lyrics..makes it so much easier. Fo sho.

Alright so..everybody has their own opinion on Itachi and yada yada. Of course what Itachi did was horrible and makes ya wanna hate him. But I think there's something else behind the whole clan killing thing. I really don't think he's evil - even if it's almost without a doubt that he took part in the Uchiha clan execution. And in my story I guess I kind of wanted to dig deeper into it. So in my story, we actually haven't found out if he really killed the clan or not, and the reasons behind why, but for me,I'm still debating what exactly happens to Itachi in the end of the my story.

I'll give the troubled man a bit of sunshine.

**Warning: **A somewhat no so much warning .

Again, this is a fanfiction..the way things are written and expressed in this story may not necessarily represent the author's thoughts and opinions for certain aspects of the Naruto series. Or views on life. Or views on why nearly 70 of the American population is FAT. If you have any problems or are confused about any information displayed in this story, consult the author via review and/or message and state the question or opinion clearly…other than that…enjoy the story!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series…and Naruto ever had to die WHICH HE WOULDN'T..but if he ever did..he would probably die by choking on ramen..yep..what a way to go out..but that would be to lame right? At least he wouldn't die by a chopstick logding itself in his throat…I dunno this was just inspired by the whole crocodile hunter thing…it's really horrible that he died and all…but if he really had to go out, as in not by old age..couldn't he at least go out by a croc? CROCODILE hunter. Ya know?

Enjoy!

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 29: Beautiful Disaster**

(o)

(o)

(o)

Her emerald orbs slightly wavered as they continued to hold the Uchiha clan symbol in their depths, as they watched the back of the man that was escorting her back to Konoha. They hadn't spoken a word to eachother. He didn't even take one glance towards her to make sure she was alright - though she new that he was well aware of where she was. Though he didn't know how hard it was just trying to maintain the distance between them right now, not fall back any further - it was unspeakable to try and catch up to him. She was weak from blood loss, exhausted from overwhelming emotions, fatigued from overexertion.

What was left of her chakra she was trying to save for him. Like his older brother he didn't allow nor want her medical expertise; she knew all to well his stubborness resulted from his unconscious act not to endanger her. It still frustrated her.

It was that same stubborness that made it seem as though he had not a scratch on him; though , she knew he was injured, wounds far from minor with the type of people he had been fighting only moments before. He seemed fine, though with him everything was about the unknown, and it was from that knowledge that worry clouded her thoughts.

She let out a shakey breath as she rubbed her arms, simultaneous to stepping over the huge tree root slightly protruding from the earth.

It was also cold, there was a biting chill to the air, adding the the stinging of her skin - the pouring rain earlier also created a mist to the forest, the wetness to the surface of everything. It was early morning, meaning they still had a whole day ahead of them, and most likely wouldn't take too long a time to rest. She figured it was going to be like this the whole way ..

Cold.

Silent.

Exhausting.

Yeah , it was everything she had hoped for in this journey alone with him.

She cast her eyes downward at the thought.

It was then that she caught sight of the patches of red that would occur every few feet apart.

Blood.

Emerald shot up to Sasuke, examining, analyzing, observing. His movement was fine, his breathing appearing unlabored, his countenance tall. It seemed as though nothing was wrong, he always held his composure unless unable to. It was why she continued watching him, seeing a pattern in his graceful movement, noticing that he hardly used his left arm as if necessary - it didn't even sway with his walking, it was deathly still, hanging limply, almost like a burden at his side.

A stream of blood had penetrated the already blood-soaked peice of shirt that had been wrapped around it - the line of blood swirled around the column of his arm, steadily dropping to the earth beneath him.

**Flashback**

Sakura let out a scream as blood spurted on her face. It wasn't the blood that upset her, it was the owner of the blood.

She looked up to Sasuke who was crouched in front of her, his left side facing Koizumi. He had his right arm around her, and his left forearm held up to their enemy. He had stuck his arm out in the path of the kunai, which was now embedded deep in his arm. Sasuke was still holding his arm stationary, not letting the holder of the kunai push further. He was wincing in pain as the blood flew from his wound in a constant stream.

"Sasuke!" Tears started falling from her eyes at a fast rate.

His eyes burning with a silent fury, Sasuke pushed his injured arm up against Koizumi catching him off guard. He pushed himself off the ground and delivered a chakra filled punch to Koizumi's face, sending him skidding on his feet a few feet back. Sasuke stood his ground, eyes trained on Koizumi. He ignored the blood dripping to the ground below him.

**End Flashback**

She felt her eyes become alert as her insides jumped with alarm. As guilt vibrated throughout her core.

She continued watching him, noticing that the splotches of blood she would see on the ground weren't from his injured, bleeding arm, but from somwhere else, a wound that was bleeding at a much faster, uncontrolled pace. Sasuke was hurt. He was hurt badly.

She watched as he clenched his fist again, but this time he did not unclench it. The strain caused even more blood to drip from his arm.

They needed to stop, right now. Sasuke had lost too much blood earlier, and now she had just realized he was still losing blood in a steady amount. He had no more to spare . It would only be a matter of time before he collapsed, no matter how strong he or his body was.

Could that also be a reason why he wasn't talking to her? Was he in too much pain?

"Sasuke." She called, her tone serious, worried. It took him a while before he responded, which was also peculiar to her. "We need to stop, Sasuke." She said this loud and clear, making sure he could hear her. This time he didn't answer her, he just kept his even pace. After a while she heard that familiar "Hn" come from his lips, but he still kept walking. Was he even listening to her?

Drawing up most of the energy she could, Sakura increased her pace until she caught up to him. It was then that she noticed his very slight limping. And his slow, quiet, yet irregular breathing. Was this why he put distance between them?

"Sasuke-kun." She called while gently touching him on the shoulder. She didn't know if he recoiled from the contact, or from the added suffix. Or maybe even from pain? But his shoulder shied away from her sharply. The breif moment that she made contact, she noticed how tender his shoulder felt, it was antithetical to the usual stern, toughness that broadened his shoulders. What was worse , he didn't even seem to realize his involuntary action at her touch.

"Let's keep moving." She barely caught the mumble of a command that sounded from Sasuke.

When she felt a peculiar stickiness to her hand, she looked to see Red crimson blotched on - and she immediately flashed back to his shoulder. Her wary eyes watched Sasuke as he continued to walk, lengthening the distance between them again. She had closed her eyes as her own fatigue nearly dizzied her. It was the breif glance to her blood-covered hand that gave her the motivation to run, to make in way in front of him. And when she did, she couldn't stop the huge, grief-stricken gasp that escaped her throat.

"Sasuke, stop." Her voice now portrayed that fact that she was scared. She immediately placed her hands on his completely soaked shirt. Doing her best to keep her wavering, watering emerald gaze on his face - altough adorned with deep cuts, it was a counterbalance to the continue of his torso. His entire shirt was literally soaked with blood , and from the front you could see that his ankle was puffed, blood leaking profusely due to another gash - cause to his limping. She couldn't even begin to determine how many other injuries he had, they weren't visible; However, he had lost all the blood that he could lose . Much more and it would kill him.

She had only placed her hands on his chest, not applied any pressure, so she was forced to walk backwards as Sasuke kept on walking, his somewhat blank gaze focused ahead.

"..Sakura.." She heard him mutter. She could hear that slight annoyance and tone of his voice that was telling her to leave him alone.

She had stopped in her movement, watching him make his way futher away from her.

"Sasuke! Stop, please!" Sakura pleaded as she kept her hands on his chest, this time adding pressure in the other direction, and closing her eyes in a desperation for the pain she knew it would cause him. After a small moment, her pleading gaze looked up to his unfocused gaze.

She didn't know if it was from her desperate plea, or the fact that he was to weak to resist the pressure she was putting on his chest, but Sasuke had finally slowed down to a halt. He slowly looked downwards to the trembling hands that were still planted on his chest, and then to Sakura's worried emerald gaze.

It was then that he dropped down to the ground.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura immediately dropped to the ground next to him, carefully helping him as he struggled into a sitting position. HIs face was obscured from view as it hung low, as he continued to try and move into a standing position.

"I'm fine." He muttered. However she could see his body shaking, see the unusual paleness that was his skin.

"No your not!" She lightly pushed him back against the tree, halting his attempts at getting to his feet - and this time he just sat there, not saying anything, his figure slumping from exhaustion. Though she could have sworn she heard him slightly cursing to himself.

Her emerald gaze frantically transitioned around the surrounding forest , her insides wanting to panic. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't help him out here in the cold. And if she didn't do anything, he was going to die.

It was when her memory recognized the surrounding forest that a small ray of hope excited her stressed mind, inititiated adrenaline to her depraved body. They were near that cabin, the one that Sasuke had taken her too before. And she thanked everything good and bad in her life that it wasn't far away. She just had to get them past the tree line and shrubs, she just hoped that in her desperation she wasn't hallucinating.

--

Her labored breaths provided the background noise as they slowly scuffled through the glass. Sasuke's breathing was dangerously quiet, slow, minute, and it only made her worry more agitated.

She had Sasuke's arm around her shoulders, and she was trying to gently grab him at the waist through his blood soaked shirt. She knew it hurt him, but he didn't make a sound, his head had lulled against her chest, remaining obscured from view. His silent breaths, and his growing paleness worried her even more so. Sasuke was walking himself, sure as he had his pride he was still trying to walk, where as anyone else in his position would have long since given up the struggle. She didn't know if it was will for his own life or will to burden her as little as possible. However with each step he seemed to grow weaker, to the point where every other few steps for them was a stumble.

As they brushed through the long line of shrubs and slid past the hanging trees, her eyes widened with relief - the cabin rested in sight's distance. As if he felt her relief, Sasuke's body seemed to slump even more so against her, showing his growing weakness, and she could feel the wetness of blood seeping into her clothing.

"C'mon, Sasuke, we can do this, were not far away." With a look of determination, Sakura readjusted Sasuke's position, pulling him up a little further, her eyes squinting with grief as he was unable to control a large noise of pain. Determined eyes fixated on the cabin as they inched closer. To her surprise, Sasuke's feet seemed to gain a newfound burst, as they moved along with her steps, as he tried his hardest to take some of his weight off of her.

"We're almost there Sasuke, just a little more." He didn't show any sign that he had heard her; however the moment the words escaped her lips, Sasuke completley slumped against her, his weight heavier as his legs gave out from underneath him. She let out a cry of despair as they both collapsed to the ground. She was on her knees as she tried her best to break their fall, letting Sasuke's back rest against her chest.

"Sasuke-kun!" She tried her best to push the hair out of his face, using the back of her hand - her palms had long since been soaked with blood. Her entire body was pretty much covered in his blood, mingling with a bit of hers. Her emerald gaze locked onto his face, noticed the serenity of his face, free from any contorted pain - however the deep, hard lines etched in his face spoke otherwise. His face was ghostly pale, his forehead burning, the rest of his body icy, and sweating profusely.

"C'mon, please..please wake up Sasuke..we're not that far..we're right here!"She couldn't contain the cry in her voice as her eyes transitioned to long for the cabin only a few more feet away.

When Sasuke let out a small moan, her heart fluttered. He was still conscious. And it was then that she wished he wasn't, so that he would be spared from the unbearable pain. She let out a flabbergasted, yet greif-stricken huff as the tried to figure out what to do, fast. He could not walk anymore, she would not let him.

"Alright..we can do this.." She started as she maneuvered herself into a better position. She the moved to put Sasuke's chest against her back, his arms to hang over her shoulders. She then did her best to scoot him over more so that she could get a grab at his legs. She did her best to ignore how tense Sasuke was, as his pride allowed no utterance of pain to escape his lips. Taking a deep breath, Sakura closed her eyes, letting out a groan as she brought their combined weight off the ground.

Leaving no moment for herself to stop, in fear of collapsing once again, she slowly staggered each step closer to the cabin. As perspiration continued to line her forehead, as determined emerald orbs focused on the cabin, her thoughts were very morbid. She was dissapointed in herself. If this were any normal situation, she could have carried Sasuke easily. But she was stupid, she didn't take any time to rest.

And all of this, was her fault. Every single thing, every circumstance that had led up to this, was all caused by her. She couldn't help it as her emerald orbs finally started to water, her determination start to waver.

She had to hold in a sob, when Sasuke's once limp, motionless arms moved from their hanging position to rest in a slight hug around her chest - his seemed to have sensed her distress, and in his delirium, sought to comfort. She could feel his breath against the side of her neck as he buried his face in it's crook. The moment lasted all too short as the last ounce of energy left him, and he was unable to support the weight of his arms; they fell back to dangle over her shoulders.

She had paused at his sudden stillness, her heart, her gut, every part of her dropping. She hunched over immediately so that she could reach an arm back to check his pulse without setting him to the ground. Relief swept through her body, and she closed her eyes to gain control of her overwhelming emotions before reopening them, making the last steps to the cabin door.

--

Sasuke rested deathly still on the already soaked crimson bed. A fire had just been started in the old fashioned stove and chiminey located on the other side of the room. It's surface was already covered with pots full of water, in the process of reaching a boil.

There was a flash of pink as the kunoichi moved next to him, finding a small area to sit on a part of the bed next to him. She removed his shirt, discarding the soaked heap to the side.

"Oh..Sasuke.." She felt the tears swell up in her throat as she looked at his wounded torso. She couldn't even see the wound, his entire chest was caked and smeared with blood, she had to try and remove some of it to see the actual damage.

She could hear the sound of boiling water in the background. Moving tiredly to the stove, she took the first pot off from the stove and placed it on the ground next to the bed Sasuke lay upon; she did this with the others as well. And it was when the last pot rested on the wooden floor that she noticed the remnants of the blood on the pot handles from her hands. She then remembered she was practically covered in blood. She could not touch that water with how dirty she was.

Without second thought, she ran outside, knowing exactly where the small river was behind the cabin. She took of her clothes, leaving only her undergarments, before taking a deep breath and jumping into the freezing water. She hurriedly tried to scrub herself off, doing her best to ignore the shaking of her body. The dizziness rushing to her head. The stinging of her own wounds. It was slow, when she pulled herself out the water before rushing back into the cabin.

Inside she dug through the drawers, pulling out all the towels. She quickly used one to dry herself off as she huried to the bathroom, finding a first aid kit in the mirrored cabinet. She didn't have the time to stop her wet hair from dripping as she made a grab for the white box, and all the gauze and bandages surrounding.

--

It had been a few hours, and it was nearly nightfall now.

She had finished closing and bandaging the worst of his wounds, unable to use any chakra to close them up her ameliorate the pain. His breathing was still a little ragged and his skin still pale. His face looked to be very taught in pain, glued like that in his unconscious state.

Her own face was near paleness as well, her body weak as she continued to care for him. She reached her hand out to push the hair out of his face, and then unconsciously began moving her hand along his jaw, slowly, but gently massaging the taught located there.

She continued to look at him, awed at how peaceful he looked when he slept. It brought many thoughts to her mind, many hopes, many dissapointments, many acceptances.

Way back when..she had really thought it was possible, that she could change him…but now, now that she had failed miserably over and over again she had lost the hope that he could change for her.

And she realized that after all that, she didn't want him to change. She didn't need him to change. There was only one thing she wanted, needed from this young man.

And she had lost hope for that as well.

"Sakura.." His voice was low, faint. He didn't open his eyes to look at her, however she noticed it was his first time awakening since they had reached the cabin, and she couldn't ignore how he paused as pain invaded all his senses.

"Are you thirsty? I-I'll get you some water." As she moved from the bedside, she was stopped as his hand shackled around her wrist. The sudden, unexpected jolt caused her to lose her balance, and twirl around, leaving her upper body to fall upon him. She heard him release his breath through his nostrils, encompassed by the pain from impact, he had breifly closed his eyes, and when they opened, they still glimmered with surge of agitation to his weak body - however no grunt escaped his lips.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sasuke!" She tried her best to ignore the feel of her skin against his. She was in the motion of pushing herself off him, but paused when he didn't release her wrist; he held it so that she was forced to stay atop him.

She held her breath as she looked into Sasuke's glazed onyx orbs.

Her heart was pounding.

"..Sakura.." He said again. This time his voice held a slight tone of chastisement. She knew he could feel her body shaking terribly. Her skin must have felt cold to the touch. And she couldn't deny how warm his body felt against hers, just as his warm breath tickled her face. His eyes were slightly open, his discomfort reflecting through them, but they seemed to burn into her with such intensity. It was new to her, and unsettling.

"Why?" He finally said. His tone was completely questioning, as if he was confused.

There was a pause.

As she looked at his troubled face, she could tell he was struggling to stay conscious. She also knew that his irritability was most likely at it's highest peak. He was Sasuke. He hated being immobile and having to depend on someone. But she doubted Sasuke was very much conscious of his actions right now. He was probably delirious.

"I'm not afraid to die, Sakura." His voice was still low, weak, showing even more how his condition was.

Sakura continued to look into his eyes, trying to read his expression. It was hard trying to stay calm with their close proximity. They were touching, skin to skin, their faces not even an inch apart.

"I know." She whispered, her words coming out in one shaky breath.

"I.. I didn't ask you to do anything for me." He said.

"I know." She repeated again, a sad smile making it's way to her lips.

"Then why?" His question was absolutley genuine; and as it seemed her were about to further his inquiry, his energy had been completley spent, and he released her wrist from his grasp. Taking the opportunity, she slowly picked herself off of him. Their gazes met once more for a somewhat long, intense moment. It ended when he turned his head away from her, letting sleep shut down his movement.

She watched him sleep for a breif time, before slowly lowering her head to rest on her forearm against the bed. As she sat like this, she found her face contorting weirdly and her nose wrinkling. She then abruptly sat up, looking to the ceiling with a sigh. She managed to blink the tears away.Letting out a shaky breath, she looked to Sasuke before covering him with all the blankets she could find. She then made her way over to the wall opposite the bed, close to the fire. With a sigh she slid down to the ground, bringing her knees up to her chest.

Her adrenaline rush had long since expired, and she was shaking badly. She was exhausted and freezing, still only in her undergarments, having nothing to change into. She was sure she could have dug around and found something, but she was just too tired.

She was tired of everything. This horrible feeling in her gut, this unrequited feeling. This hopelessness that shadowed her every move. This voice in her head that screamed at her and her heart, telling her she was wrong, telling her that everything she had done was wrong. That everything she felt was wrong.

Her emerald eyes looked at the S-class criminal lying in the bed. The reflection of the fire flickered within their depths, along with something else. Something clear and uncontrollable.

_Because I love you, Sasuke…_

She brought her knees up further to her chest and buried her face into her arms. She had tried to stop them, she really did. But this time her heart was right. She needed to cry. And so she did.

* * *

**Thanks For reading!!**

**aaaaaaaah!**

**Lame Ending, yea i know. Actually lame chapter. It took me longer to finish this chapter than i thought, Jeez i suck at life..fo sho..well i hopers it wasn't too bad! Yea i was trying to be realistic but it kinda interfered with all the ideas that were NOT running in my head, so yea i dunno. Man why am i having so many brain farts? I have a feeling I'll come out with the new brain disease that slowly kills it's writers. Sad fate.**

**But i'm pretty sure that about 2 or 3 chapters from now, the story finale will take place, or at least start to. I'm planning on making the last chapter extra super long, ya know like one of those series that goes out with a bang? A very prolonged bang. Fo sho. Until next time!**


	31. Chap 30: Constellation

**A/N:** OoooooohWEEE! Crazay Awesome reviews guys. Muchas Gracias….wow…I never thought my story would get so many reviews, and be liked. And I didn't even think it was going to stretch out this long haha. What, 30 chapters? I can't even type that many words per minute. Kidding. But um yea I have a confession…I truly deeply, unconditionally, hypothetically love you all. Squeals.

**Warnings:** I have decided to temporarily discontinue my other story "Those Sharingan Eyes" so that I can solely focus on this one, thus making it much easier for me to finish this one and make each of the last chapters worthwhile! That also means that it is absolutely guaranteed (wow I feel smart) that each chapter will come out almost back to back, as in very soon after the next. HOORA.

This story is about to come to a closing very soon so I'm gonna go all out! Great Fans deserve the best! And I'll try my uber best to be the writer superman.

**Disclaimer**: If I owned the Naruto series...they would have much better openings and closings..the songs...ya know?

Planetarium by Ai Otsuka...officiallly Sasuke and Sakura's song...or one of them. And the song that you are going to play while reading this chapter, got it :) Go YouTube it!

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile:**

**Chapter 30: Constellation**

(o)

(o)

(o)

The rain was pouring mercilessly again, the darkness hiding it's presence, the earth beating to it's rhythm. The small river known to flow gently from the cabin was slightly rising, and proceeding at a much faster, uncontrolled pace. The dirt and soil of the earth once dry, caved in as it soaked and muddied, imprinting to each heavy raindrop.It seemed to have been raining for a day or so nonstop, and it would no doubt continue into the next day.

A cabin not to far away fought to stay standing as the flames inside flickered, focused to stay alit, the little droplets of rain soaking through the roof of the cabin. The lone raindrops dripping from the roof sizzled away, doing nothing to impede the lengths of the fire, flaring about its small foundation.

Little small pales of buckets were placed accordingly in other places where water continued to drip down, adding more sounds and beats to the quiet night, though almost drowned out by the pounding rain.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Emerald eyes slowly opened, fluttering a mere moment before fully opening to stare blankly at the ceiling above her. The patterns of the burning flames seemed to dance about the walls reflecting across her eyes as each seperate dying ember that sparked from the fire wrought its shadow across the wooden-tiled floor. Her dull eyes reflected no emotion, even as she had come to her senses, realized the warmth of the bed she was in.

The flames from the fire danced in the reflection of her eyes as her gaze transitioned in the direction of the fire, looking at what was past it, resting against a wall on the floor. And unreadable emotion flashed through her gaze, though it seemed to darken even more.

Uchiha Sasuke sat on the splintered wooden floor, his back leaning against the warped wall; one knee was bent up towards him, acting as a foundation for his arm to rest on, his other leg lay flat on the ground, outstretched to its full length. His head tilted back, and his eyes closed, he appeared to be sleeping; though, even from their distance it was clearly perceivable the taught lines etched in his face, signifying the pain he must have felt, even while in slumber.

She took a long moment to simply stare at him with her dull emerald orbs. Her gaze remained fixated on him as she pulled herself up into a sitting position; it was the chill that swept across her body, tingling her skin that transitioned her gaze to glance at her half-naked body, only her dampened under garments still clothed her. She seemed unaffected and uncaring. It was as if she was numb. It was her only defense, this indifference.

In her periphreal vision she caught sight of the clothing slightly hanging at the foot of the bed. They were easily named to be Sasuke's clothing, though she looked to him again, her eyes noticing the clean clothes he was adorned in. She continued to look at Sasuke for another prolonged moment of time, an unreadable expression crossing her face. It was almost abrupt, when she averted her away from him, as if the image burned her eyes.

He had put her in this bed, the one he was supposed to be in. He had restarted the fire, found them both some stored away clothes.Her eyes breifly twitched in accordance to the painful tug her heart felt. He had done all this for her.

Why?

Even as she changed into the presented clothes, her gaze had not left him, even as she raised the shirt over her head. Her emotionless facade in tact, she made her was towards the Uchiha. She gently folded her legs underneath her, balancing her weight on her heels as she lowered down next to Sasuke, moving herself as close as possible to his outstretched leg without touching. Their closer proximity was what allowed her to notice even more so how tense his body was, the deep lines etched in his face, the beads of perspiration dotting his forehead. The counterbalance to this was the normal color that had returned to him, his calm, regular breathing.

She herself wasn't even aware of the barely discernable sigh that had escaped her lips with her exhale as she almost effortlessly pushed herself up to her feet. She made her way across the small room to the even smaller bathroom. Where she had left them, the empty tub and accompanying rag rested in the sink. She reached her had to the nozzle, twisting it; simultaneously the sound of gushing water could be heard as it traveled up the old rusty pipes connected to it.

Not once did she look in the mirror in front of her while the tub filled.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

She seemed to hesitate before reaching her hand out to touch Sasuke, however momentarily as she lifted the bangs from his forehead, using her other to bring up the rag, gently clearing the perspiration from his face. The rag was carelessly dropped into the tub before both her hands rested themselves on either side of his face. The bareley discernable blue chakra lightly emanated from her hands as she added little chakra, aid to her as she gently masaged the taught lines from his face.

It was then that emerald met deep obsidian.

She didn't fall back in surprise, her eyes didn't widen. She gazed back at him with the same blatant stare as he. And she was also the first to look away, letting her eyes rest on his the lines she continued to massage. She could still feel his eyes on her, and whether it bothered her or not, she didn't show. Whether her hands on his face bothered him or not, he didn't show. They didn't say a thing.

Even as the tension between them seemed to rise.

Her hands casually fell from his face when all the muscles in his face had slightly relaxed, though she knew it was more from his will of stoic expression, he suffered wounds, the pain would not go away until the source was removed.

Pain..and its source.

She looked away from him as she moved her hand to pick up the rag resting in the tub of water."How are you feeling?" Her tone was soft, yet noticeably emotionless. Again, unlike her. She did not look at him as she inquired, she concentrated her gaze on her hands as she wringed the rag out. His eyes never left her.

"Fine." His reply was flat. He said nothing else, and it seemed he had no intention to say more.

The likeliness of their situation left no doubt that he was possibly irritated. Nonetheless in pain as well; pain that might have actually been a dullance for him, a counterbalance to the thoughts running through him; he had just adandoned all of his life goals, all that he had sacrificed had been in vain. All the emotions he suffered, the anger, the years worth of suffering, they had not stopped. There was no chance he woulld simply forget it all. No chance he wouldn't continue to suffer.

"Can you take off your shirt? ..I need to check your wounds." She didn't look at him, again, as she said this. Her voice was calm, almost impassive, seemingly forced.

He made no movement.

It was what finally transitioned her gaze to his. And as if that was that he was waiting for, he proceeded to take of his shirt, all the while his gaze still fixated on her; if the movement hurt him, she wasn't able to tell with the graceful way he slid the shirt over his head. Her eyes breifly twitched as she saw his wounds, she let no emotion cross her face.

All varieties of cuts and scrapes adorned his upper body; the bandages that had been wrapped around his abdomen were completley soaked crimson red. There was no part of his chest that was normally shaded, there was the great discoloration bruises and wounds under the skin provided. She could see one of his broken ribs bendging slightly outwards as it wasn't able to protrude his skin.

She had taken in a silent deep breath, calmly exhaling it out, though the slight shakiness to that release of breath was easily discerned.

"It's nothing." He flatly said, however just above a whisper, as if he could read through her facade, know that she wasn't too happy about the state he was in. Her gaze traveled back up to his for a moment. It was when they breifly glistened did she look away, closing her eyes in a blink, reopening them to reveal dull emerald orbs, clear of any glossiness.

She said nothing has she leaned towards him, another bated silence between them as she reached around him with each unravel of the bloodied bandages. When the major wound to his side was reveal with the discarding of the bandages, she wasn't able to hide the swallow that resulted. Blood still steadily flowed from it.

"Sakura.." He was trying to talk to her. And she was trying to ignore him.

"I need to stop to bleeding." She calmly said, though the abrupt way she said it hinted to the effort she had to put to say it as she did. She couldn't run away from her pained emotions when the source of them was right in front of her.

She put her hands over the major wound, a blue colored glow immediately emanating from them. He still continued to look at her, even as she concetrated solely on the wound.

"Sakura." His tone was abrupt, stern, as if he were about to tell her to stop.

She knew she didn't haven't the courage or stability to return his gaze.

Sakura undiscernably shook her head, trying to devote her complete attention to healing the large wound before her. Her eyebrow slightly furrowed as she did so. It didn't take long before she had at least closed the wound, she removed her hands, wanting to heal some of his other ones.

"You don't have to do this..you didn't have to do any of this."

"I have to put your ribs back into place." She almost cut him off with her announcement, impecable timing it was. She seemed to have dismissed his call.She let out a small breath as she placed her hands over the protruding rib. When he said nothing, she breifly glanced up to him, noticing as he averted his gaze. "Take a deep breath." She found it was easier to look up at him when his gaze was averted, and so she looked up at him, waiting for him as he took his deep breath. Her gaze almost seemed nervous as she glanced back down to his protruding rib.

She left no warning as she quickly applied all the pressure she could in a swift push. Her emerald gaze shot up to Sasuke's face as the sickening pop resounded; his eyes had closed and his jaw had clenched tightly as he released his breath in a calmed, barely discernable grunt. Sakura immediately let a blue light emanate from her hands as she still held them on the position over his ribs, trying to sooth the pain at the same time she had caused it.

"Sorry." She quickly muttured.

Another silence ensued between them as she continued to heal much of the wounds on his chest. She noticed when he slightly relaxed, signifying the worst of the pain was over.

"Sakura.." Something in his voice made her stop, bringing her emerald gaze to meet his onyx.

"I'm sorry." It seemed he had taken the time to think about his words, and though they were abrupt, he said them almost slowly. She paused yet again, her slightly surprised eyes wavering as she looked into his. He continued as he noticed her confusion. "I hurt you."

She quickly brought a hand to her own abdomen.

"Oh this? It's nothing." Her voice was gentle, almost perky. She knew what he had meant, though she had tried to play it off, act as if she thought he was only talking about that. When really, he had only wounded her in one place.

He seemed to be well aware of that. So he tried again.

"I've hurt you, Sakura." His tone was more implying. And it was then that her gaze fell from his as she let out a small smile. She replaced her hands on his chest, a blue glow emanating from them immediately. She then let out a hardly discernable sight, almost a defeated one, it seemed.

"You have." It was as if saying it was a hard feat, she almost seemed releived as the words left her, yet still hesitant. As if admitting that would bring on something she wasn't ready to face yet. She let a small noise of feigned amusement, though it wasn't mocking, almost sad. Her tone was gentle, accepting. She did not look at him as she answered.

Sasuke remained quiet after her reply. It almost seemed as if he had the intention to say more, but was repeatedly deciding against it. Even through his stoic demeanor she could feel his slight frustration. She tried to ignore it. She had tried to hard all these years to try and understand him, read past his emotionless facade; and when she finally was able to, at least a little bit, it was at a time when she did not wish it. It was at a time where she could not handle it.

He couldn't do this to her, not now.

A few minutes had passed before she had finally finished healing the wounds on his chest. For a moment, her hands rested on him before she slowly pulled them away, her finger tips brushing the area where the wounds once were. All that remained was the large, clotted wound to his side.

"I've killed countless people." He started, his tone abrupt, leading.His outburst almost seemed random. But they both seemed to be expecting it. "I've killed people who just looked me the wrong way." He seemed to be warning her as he continued. His tone was almost, guilty. "I've tortured women and children, and I don't regret it." He caught her gaze once again. He seemed to be trying to give her an excuse, a reason.

"You know...you say that as if I care, Sasuke."

"You should." He immediately replied. "You don't understand."

"You're right, I don't understand anything." Her voice had a tone of finality in it. In her emotionless facade, she gave him a breif smile before turning away from him to pick up the tub. She rose to her feet as casually as she could, trying not to be too abrupt. Before she entered the bathroom door, she breifly glanced to Sasuke, who had set his head back against the wall, his head tilted up as he closed his eyes. She looked at him for a moment longer, something flickering across her gaze before she stepped into the bathroom.

When she had come out, she glanced to Sasuke, noticing he was still in the same position, his eyes still closed. Instead of walking back to him she casually walked to the door.

"Where are you going?"

She continued to walk.

"..I'd just like some fresh air." Her voice was calm, almost too calm. When he said nothing, her head slightly tilted up in a sort of releif.

"It's raining." Taking a deep breath, she slowed down to a halt, once more.

"I know."

"You hate the rain." He immediately replied.

She glanced at him over her shoulder, giving the best poker face she could. Trying to hide her suprise that he had remembered such a thing. Where she should have been happy that he remembered something about her, she wasn't.

"I'll be back ok?" She noticed as his eyes slighty narrowed in speculation, but he didn't say a thing. Even if Sasuke would have replied, she didn't give him the chance as she moved out the door, immediately closing it behind her.She leaned against the door, looking up into the darkness of the sky.

The merciless rain immediately soaked her as she continued to stare into the starless sky.

It was then that she took off. The continuous pounding of her feet into the slick mud created an addition of beat to the pounding rain.

**(Sasuke's voice)**

**_You're annoying_**

**_You disgust me, you disgust me Sakura!_**

**_Are you stupid?_**

**(Naruto's voice)**

**_He doesn't do anything for you Sakura!_**

**(Sasuke's voice)**

**_I'll kill you_**

**(Jiraiya)**

**_A ninja must not show emotion in any situation_**

**_Ninjas…sometimes it just seems so cruel_**

**(Sasuke)**

**_You're all over my godamned brother!_**

**_(Naruto)_**

**_Can't you see that he doesn't love you and he never will?_**

**_He can't even manage a simple thankyou!_**

**(Tsunade)**

**_You still love him, don't you?_**

**(Sasuke)**

**_Thankyou, Sakura._**

She let out a small cry as she finally dropped to her knees; her hands dug into the muddy earth beneath her, acting as the only support as sobs racked her trembling body.

She couldn't do it, she couldn't do this anymore. Love. Loving Uchiha Sasuke. She couldn't continue to be around him, acting as if nothing was wrong, pretending everything was normal - that the normalness between them - the short, rare conversations about meaningless things - was ok. She couldn't forever withold her emotions so as to spare him the annoyance, so as to keep her own pride. She couldn't continue to let small parts of her die with each passing moment. All her talk and promises about bringing him back to Konoha, they were pointless, when Konoha was a place he didn't want to be, when being with her was a concept he would never want to accept - when she had abandoned those hopes and promises the day they had fought - the day he had sought to kill her.

Why?

Why did she keep coming back?  
How did she get so twisted into his life?

This love that she swore every day she felt, wished every day she didn't have, complained every day she didn't want - it was borderline obsession. Extreme Infatuation. All of the future dreams she would have, he was a part of every one of them, for what reason? What made it so that she couldn't even _think _of living the rest of her life without him? Why, even as it was painful to be near him, was it dreadful to be away from him?How could she be so selfish as to try and stay a part of his life, when he didn't want it?When all she caused him was more trouble, when all she caused herself was more heartache?

Why?

Why, back in the cabin, when he sought to talk things through, to face all the problems of their past, to open up to her - to convince her of his horrible deeds of the past, did she run away?

Running away. It really was all she could do. It was the best thing she could do in this situation.

He was fine, most of his wounds were healed, it would take the end of the night for him to gain most of his energy back. He could continue his life just fine. She could continue her life just fine - back in Konoha - without him. Time alone wouldn't be enough to free her, though only she herself had the power to determine that, to help herself. She could not be a burden to him any more. She just wouldn't. And so she made her decision. She would leave him, for once. Right now. It had to be right now.

She tilted her head up into the rain, closing her eyes, a sort of calmness finally sweeping over her. Finality.

He was right, earlier - she had always hated the rain - hated how cold it was, hated the gloominess to the sky it created, hated the feel of it pounding against her skin, threatening to pound down everything that she was, that she had strived to build. She hated the rain because she was always alone - all her experiences with nature's rejuvination hadn't been good ones. She had been abandoned in the rain, never found. She had fallen in the rain, never danced. And she had suffered in the rain, never been comforted. She was left to endure it, always - like she was now, alone.

She sensed the presence coming towards her, the one she failed to notice earlier in her distress. She had tried to run, to fuel her body with motivation to go in the opposite direction, away from the man that was marching towards her with determination, away from her main source of pain; however she just sat there, eyes finally left to look upwards as Sasuke paused before her. She could see his clenched fists, see his frustrated gaze looking upon her. He stood over her, like that, for a few moments longer before taking her shoulders and roughly pulling her up.

And that was the last time he used such hateful force.

She could feel his body heat, radiating towards her, comforting her. And she hated it. She hated the way her body reacted when close to his, the way her heart fluttered when his gaze was upon her. The way she couldn't breath when he finally touched her - his hand had reached to wipe the tears from her face, even as they were undiscernable from the rain.

She tried to push him away, her shaking palms planting themselves on the Uchiha's bare, strongly muscled chest as she turned her upper body away, tried to ignore the sparks than ran through her body in result. She had paused in surprise when his hands grabbed hers, holding them there above his heart. It was what brought her surprised gaze to look at her hands before slowly traveling up his soaked countenance to meet his intense gaze - her eyes widened, wavered continuously as what she saw in those depths stunned her, as the strong pattering of his heart moved her. Confused her.

"You don't understand." He finally spoke, tone clear and loud, abrupt, still void of emotion, but almost painfully admitted. It seemed he was trying to tell her something, convey to her something of which he couldn't explain, didn't _want _to explain, or even let her know. It was why she could see the confusion in his eyes, the irritation, the guilt, sorrow, anger, pain. Affection. All together, connected to each other in some way. And she couldn't grasp it, figure it out.

Even as he brought his hand up to lightly grasp her chin, tilting her gaze up even more so towards him. He wanted to give her the opportunity to see everything, even as he she wouldn't understand.

She really didn't understand, and he wished that she never would.

Haruno Sakura. She, only her, was able to distinguish between what he had done, and who he was. Even when he didn't know who he was himself - she had shown him - with her undying faith in him, when he had no faith in himself; with her never-ending forgiveness, even when he sought it from no one; with her love, when he was at one point unsure if he would ever be able to, ever want to return it. She really was the light to his darkness, she came to him at his bleakest hour, as the darkness raged inside him, threatening to consume him; he had been prepared to vent his years-old despair, pain, hatred - take his revenge on his older brother, kill much more innocent people, destroy himself in the end. Only she made it bearable. Her compassion, courage, innocence, it had awakened something in him that he had thought lost forever, something he could never repay her in full for, something he could never allow her to give him the time to do so.

He couldn't take her life away from her. He couldn't garauntee that he wouldn't hurt her, that he could take care of her, return her love in full. Show her the same compassion and forgiveness and patience and understanding that she showed him. He couldn't garauntee that she would still feel the same way once she found out all the horrible things he had done. He had damned himself to hell, he was not going to take her with him.

He brought his had away from her face, closing his eyes as the full force of the blame seethed in his gut, reverberating throughout his entire core.

All this time he had worked to become stronger, to surpass any who would seek to rival him, to destroy any who would seek to take what was his. He had spent years learning to perfect the use and execution of his Sharingan - so that he would be able to see everything, and his body keep up with it all the same. Yet, it had taken him so long to actually see the woman standing in front of him, keep up with her goodness, her everything. The oddly-pink-haired kunoichi that had always been there, the offering of help and guidance that had always been standing. The irony dug into him harder than any kunai or sharp-edged weapon.

Of all the mistakes he had ever made, perhaps this was the biggest.

In this moment, he made her feel weird, breathless, dizzy. Her heart was in her throat, her breathed hitched as well. Sakura's eyes were still wavering, looking up at Sasuke, trying to understand what was going on. Trying to understand the emotions that continuously flickered in their depths, grasp the entirety of what he was trying to tell her, show her.

She didn't understand how his eyes were doing something to her insides, causing a flood of warmth where it shouldn't be.

She didn't understand even as his hand moved up to cup her cheek, his thumb feathering along her delicate jawline; his fingertip traveled up her chin to find the satin perfection of her lower lip, stroking it ever so gently, cautiously - hesitantly, as if he were afraid, undecided. She didn't truly understand even as she saw that singular intent in his expression as that same hand slid around to the nape of her neck.

It seemed to transpire in slow motion, each dropping of rain creating a noticeable splash against their heating skin, as his face drew nearer to hers - as he slowly, inexorably brought her face up closer to his. Her heart somersaulted and heat rushed throughout her body as he paused, letting his nose light brush hers, their lips mere millimeters apart. She could feel his warm breath upon her, shaky, hesitant - warming her, enticing her.

She held her breath yet again, heat coiling deep within her, a need flaring in her half-closed eyes.

"You just... don't understand." His eyes were partially closed, his eyelashes looking handsomely long as he finally whispered this hopeless phrase yet again; his voice was husky, even as there was a slight trace of hidden guilt.

And then his mouth touched hers.

Featherlight, a skimming brush that Sakura felt right down to her toes. Darts of fire raced through her bloodstream, her stomach muscles clenched. Flames licked at her, swept through her like a storm; electricity crackled, and it was only then that she knew the full meaning of chemistry. Feeling. Pure and simple. There was nothing else but his lips claiming hers, whirling her into another world she hadn't known existed - where there was no pain, no over thinking, no worry about an end.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she couldn't help it as she choked on a sob, reveling at how lightly, how gently he had kissed her; how he made her feel with one simple kiss.

As a girl, she had always fantasized about her first kiss. Their first kiss. She had imagined it would be somewhere romantic, somewhere warm and bright as the birds sung beautifully in the sky. She would say something right, something that would melt the cold ice around his heart. And he would kiss her, just one small kiss, just like this. But the reality of it was much different. This was much different. They were outside, soaking in the pouring rain, both suffering from major wounds. She hadn't cracked him, hadn't figured him out. He hadn't decided to be with her, and she knew that that wasn't an option. This wasn't a light situation, there were no butterflies in her stomach, a smile on her face. And it was not just a simple kiss. It was more than that.

It was a goodbye.

Sasuke pulled back slightly, his hand moving back up to the side of her face, his eyes opening a fraction. He then slowly brought his other hand to fully cup her face gently.

"I'm sorry.."He whispered genuinely, heartachingly. It was a deep felt apology for many things, broad in its specificity. It was an apology for the past, for this moment, for the future. For him, for her, for everything. And she accepted it. She had no ability to reiterate her acceptance, no time to do so either.

He kissed her again. This time more urgent.

White heat. Blue lightening. The ground shifted and rolled. Sasuke dragged her against his strong, firm body, taking her into that same world, full of feeling. She felt herself automatically respond by wrapping her arms around his neck; she could only cling to him, a safe anchor in a storm of turbulent emotions. This time she fully let herself give in to the sensation, the bitter-sweet feeling of bliss, the feelings that felt good, but were also very painful. Her concious mind was trying desperately to comprehend what was happening, even as her body moved even closer to his, even as her knees buckled underneath her. Sasuke's arms instantly traveled to wrap around her small waist, keeping her from falling, pinning her pliant body to his, grasp unbreakable.

She wanted to know how he could make her feel this way. How he was able to put such emotion into a kiss, when he couldn't do so with his words. She still didn't understand him, what he wanted, what he needed. Why he was willing to do this for her, when it would only be more painful for the both of them once it was over.

At that thought another sob overcame her, and being so close to her, his mouth consuming hers, Sasuke felt every part of it, and as a result he paused. As if she were a part of him at that very moment, she felt his withdrawal, felt his strong will begin to pull himself away, his hidden desire not to hurt her. All of this was a response to her one sob, showing how much he didn't want to cause her any more pain, thinking that his actions at the moment were only hurting her more. And it only caused more tears to fall at his thoughtfulness, more sobs to come at his consideration.

She didn't allow him to pull completely away from her, she pulled his head back down to hers, hugged her body against him tightly. Willing him to stay in this moment, showing him that it was what she wanted. Her heart was all that mattered at the moment, not her rationalizing mind. He was all that mattered at the moment, and forevermore, not her reservations. She swallowed down more of her sobs, not wanting this beautiful moment to end.

She knew, no matter what the consequences, that this moment, this moment right here, was all she could ever ask for. After all these years, for this one moment. It was worth it. All this pain, for this moment, it was worth it. All her tears, for this moment, were worth it. For him, anything was worth it.

As of now, she didn't mind the rain.

He felt that this one moment, no matter what the consequences, no matter what would happen afterwards, just for this one moment, he wanted to make it worth it for her. This moment, was worth it for him. For her. He wanted to give her everything that she had sacrificed for. If just this once.

This one night was all he could give her.

This moment.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Yay finally some fluffiness!! Hey, be honest, do you readers think i moved that too fast? The whole Sasu/Saku moment? Seriously, i'll change it super fast and add it in a later chapter if you all want Aaaand yea. Hehe see i'm happy cause now these chapters will be rolling in like a rolly-polly. I can make up for all these late updates now! Thank you all for being devoted readers to this fic, I only write for you guys!**

**Till next time?**

**I am sorry to say that Mr. Review Button has died. That damned philsbury dough boy got jealous because he was getting pushed way more then his gay belly button. Revenge I say!! Everytime you press Mr. Robot Review button, speically created and designed by yourse truly, the stupid dough boy and his gaymo chuckle get "poked" in the belly button by a thousand knives. And then some random bazooka blasts him. And then an amry of ants slowly pull his arms and legs out of their sockets. And then a bunch of scarecrows pluck at his eyes.Yes it takes alot to kill this little f'er. Help is needed!!**

**Oh man, love how i just ruined that magical moment? Haha, me and my insanely stupid author noters, Hahooo man. Maybe i should have made my author notes all depressing. :P**


	32. Chap 31: Catalysts

**A/N: **Shweetness on a cake! Coolness on a stick! Awesome in a possum! Gracias para the reviews! So sorry about the long update! This chapter took a lot longer than i thought, and then there have been some unexpected events in my life..so fo sho...

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series..wow I think I've run out of ideas for these ahaha. Hmm…I just don't own the Naruto series ok? It's probably not very likely that you all need to be reminded after the 30 chapters worth of disclaimers. Fo sho.

**PLEASE READ BELOW/ LEA POR FAVOR ABAJO (DEBAJO DE)**

**WARNING: **This is kinda like a time warpy thingymaggiger chapter..as in it's kinda going back in forth between something that's about to happen, what leads up to it, and all that stuff in between. So the scenes, the futuristic scenes aren't in order, just random little clips from the upcoming chapters. I hope it's not to confusing!

So this line below

* * *

Is basically the splitting factor…between the past and the future.

these little lines (dash marks) below

--

are just separating one scene from another. And then the little time things i.e. **(51 Minutes prior) **Are basically the countdown to the future events, to when the whole "Destruction of Konoha" Starts. To when Sakura finally arrived in Konoha. And to when everything, the scenes and stuff are back to my normal format, the works. The BOOM BOOM, i call it.

Other than that..everything is pretty self explanatory.In upcoming chapters you'll understand the future clips taking place, it'll be regular chapters, including all those clips in there and how things lead up to them,all that good stuff.Yea sorry bout this! Just wanted to try something new! Hope it doesn't totally blow.

Rawr.

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 31: Catalysts**

**--**

**--**

**--**

**She couldn't believe what she was seeing.**

**--**

"**Sakura!"**

**--**

**For that brief moment, neither were focused on the destruction and sounds around them.**

"**Sasuke..teme.." This name rumbled from his throat. It wasn't spoken in awe, surprise, it was almost a sort of anger that spoke for him, his tone shakey.**

**--**

"**Sakura!"**

**--**

**Bodies. Everywhere.**

**--**

**It could be heard from miles away.**

**The screaming. The clashing of weapons.**

**The smell was overwhelming as well.**

**The burning. The sweat. The blood.**

**--**

"**Kuso!"**

**--**

**A random group of ninjas clashed with another group, their battle cries loud and rageful.**

**--**

**The destruction.**

**--**

**The roaring of the flames.**

**--**

"**Big..forehead.."The mumble from her rivaled friend was enough to spark a wind of motivation through her exhausted, beaten up body.**** The flames all around flickered in the depths of her emerald orbs, beads of sweat made their way down her dirt smeared face. **

"**I'm… gonna get you… out of here…" She paused holding in a small noise of pain. ".. I promise you."**

**--**

**A huge gasp climbed out of her throat and her eyes grew wide as she placed herself on her hands and knees, turning to look at what rested a distance away from the cliff.**

--

**Konoha, in all it's destruction. There didn't seem to be any coming back from this.**

--

_**It can't..It can't end like this..**_

* * *

**(Forest: 2 hours prior)**

The entire forest was deadly silent. It was early morning, and the sky above them still dark, resembling that of the night. The source of faded light over the horizon was still hidden, too premature in it's rising.

Out of the many spacious areas not adorned by trees, one specific clearing was a lit with a different type of light than that provided by the a mixture of the moon as forming rays of sun. The light green translucent glow created by the numerous amounts of fireflies; so small they looked to be little floating orbs of light. This, mixed with the darkness of the early morning, created a sort of blue-like surrounding. Areas where the little balls of light floated reflected more of that light green glow, though momentarily as they were constantly moving.

Here, in the small clearing, the slow, yet frequent sound of running water echoed from a distance. Also calming to the senses was the fresh smell of the various plants, their foundation richly soaked from the recent night's heavy rain.

Two figures sit idly in the clearing, unaware of the distant activities throughout the hidden forest. Maybe not even aware of how close they rested from a populated area. It would possibly take no longer than than a few hours to reach by walk. Less by run.

They sat on opposite sides of the clearing, though small in size, this separated them a few feet. It was apparent they awaited the rising of the sun, most likely with a little more than impatience.

The atmosphere seemed…uncomfortable, a heavy solemnity growing in the air with each passing moment.

--

"Sasuke?"

It took a moment, a few seconds of silence before another voice answered.

"Hn?"

At the very familiar response, a pair of emerald eyes traveled to gaze at the closed eyes of her companion.

He took position on the ground, his back and head supported by the huge boulder behind him; his leg bent up, a foundation for his arm to rest on; his other leg left stretched upon the ground. His head was slightly tilted up as it rested on the boulder, his eyes closed.

Shortly after the next, the floating balls of light would pass near him, lighting up the features of his face. Though his demeanor calm and stoic, the translucent glow provided by the floating orbs of light showed the taught lines decorating his face, hard to perceive at first glance. This represented the release of chemicals in the skin due to the feeling of pain. Emerald eyes traveled to the arm resting upon his bent knee. The once white bandages that adorned it were damply soaked, the light bluish glow of the clearing reflected the new color of the bandages as a sort of purple.

"I never got a chance to heal your arm." The tone of her voice, soft, also had a hint of worry, of suggestion.

"It's fine." His tone, also quiet, was flat and void of emotion. She let out a small intake of breath, not quite like that of a sigh. It was almost drowned out by the sound of distant running water.

"If it's not already infected it will be soon." Her voice was calm, almost rivaling his detached tone, though she was wondering why she was trying to convince him to take care of himself. "It won't take long for me to heal it."

Simple ninja procedure.Though Uchiha Sasuke didn't seem to be interested in abiding by it.

* * *

"**U-Uchiha…" They were all shocked, looking helpless on the ground as they stared with wide eyes.**

**They watched as his Sharingan eyes slowly looked in a general direction, his eyes almost squinting as if he saw something he needed to see.**

**With that, he disappeared.**

**--**

"**..Bastard.." The single word reverberated from deep inside him, rumbling out of his throat dangerously. Full of so much hate, yet muttered in slightly lower pitch than would be a yell.**

**The seal upon his neck proceeded to pulse slowly, forebodingly. **

**(The sound of chuckling could be heard. It is familiar, sick, twisted.)**

"**Yess..that's it, Sasuke-kun. Make me pay."**

**--**

"**Something seems a bit..odd to me… You see I remember. At this point that damned beast inside you would already be out…so now..i wonder.."**

**His cerulean eyes burned deeper, a noise of dismay rolling out of his throat. Blood was streaming down his face, a few scratches here and there. Pieces of his clothing torn and ripped.**

"

* * *

**(1 hour 30 minutes prior)**

Sakura leaned back onto her heals, letting out a short breath of relief.

Her emerald eyes traveled down to look at Sasuke's forearm, which was now void of any flesh wounds. It had taken a lot longer than she had thought. The wound had been infected, horribly, and the actual wound was so deep that if the kunai which had caused it had been pushed down an inch more, it would have protruded the other side of his arm.

He had tried to be casual about it, removing his arm from her grasp, and replacing it on his knee; He used his other hand to rub the once wounded area, subtly, but it was noticeable, showing that it must have felt much better, not having that wound there. He had probably grown accustomed to it.

His onyx eyes looked up to the sky, seeming to determine when the sun would rise. He seemed a bit perplexed at what he found, maybe an hour or so it would take. He closed his eyes, once again resting his head against the boulder.

"..Thank you.." He finally said after a while.

The floating balls of light exposed the small, momentary smile that graced her lips. Though it was almost twisted into a mournful one.

"Your welcome."

She finally sat all the way down on her bottom, deciding to be bold and lean against the same rock Sasuke was. She was casual, gently sitting next to him, maybe a foot away if that. If he objected, he didn't show it. His countenance and body placement mimicked that of relaxation. For some reason, she had this momentary feeling of bliss. He wasn't uncomfortable with her close proximity like he usually was. He didn't tense up, nothing. Though this was only momentary, other things heavily weighed her mind.

"What are you going to do now?"

* * *

"**We only have one shot at this…teme.." **

* * *

She was almost taken back when his eyes opened, slowly traveling to meet hers. He remained silent, implying that he didn't understand what she meant.

"Itachi..wasn't he the only thing you had set your mind on? Of course getting stronger and all, but that and everything else pretty much tied up your brother in a sense…avenging your clan. Now that you chose not to kill him..is there anything left you want to do?"

_Is there anything keeping you from coming back home?_

His onyx eyes lingered on hers for a while longer, he seemed to be contemplating something. He finally looked away, leaning his head back against the boulder. His eyes were focused somewhere up in the sky.

"..It wasn't my only goal." He said flatly, though almost with a sort of pondering. He said this as someone who was admitting something would, almost as if he was possibly disappointed. Feeling bereft.

"Oh there was reviving your clan.." For some reason she had forgotten about that. It made the reality of things even more melancholy.

"No." He said this immediately, almost cutting her off.

She was actually a bit surprised at his answer. She knew reviving his clan was one of his goals, but it seemed it wasn't as high on the list anymore. It made her wonder why. It also made her wonder what goal could be so high, that it surpassed his want for revival of his clan.

"Then..what?"

Sasuke glanced at her before looking away again. That was his way of saying he wasn't going to answer her.A small, unconscious smile graced her lips once again. Her voice was light and casual, hard to determine if it was forced.

"Well for me, I had a lot of goals…"

* * *

**People, civilians were running everywhere, screaming, trying to find a safe place to hide. Among them were ninjas, shinobi.**

**They were fighting.**

**Explosions were apparent every few seconds, more and more rubble falling down, more and more fires starting.**

**--**

"**I had wanted to forget you too."**

**--**

**He had no time, he could do nothing but look into her eyes. That one split second, he could read everything.****The speed in which he had reached his hand to grab hers was un-human , un-ninja. It was faster, unimaginable. **

"**Don't you dare!-."**

**--**

**The sound of her battle cry echoed throughout the entire area. It continued as burst of pink energy flew from her, resembling rays from the sun.**

**-- **

"**You know..you're the only one right? Nobody else…only you."**

**--**

**The were countless bodies everywhere, distributed along the ground. In the midst of the massacre, stand one lone person. It was a woman, surrounded by a small layer of pink chakra. The slight wind continued to ruffle her clothes nonstop, cause her pink hair to flow behind her in the wind.**

**Her fists are clenched, her eyes closed.**

* * *

**(45 minutes prior)**

"Sakura…what you want..It's impossible." Although detached, he said this in a sort of whisper, trying to stress the meaning of his words. His deep obsidian eyes traveled up to the look at the sky, which was beginning to lighten up. Rays from the sun were peaking out above the mountain, providing more light to the clearing. The little orbs of light seemed almost transparent now, though they still floated about.

He sighed , gently pulling away from her light grasp on his arm before rising into a standing position. He took a few steps away, leaving his back to face her. He brought up a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"What is it about being with me that is so hard?"

She made her way in front of him, closing the distance between them. His head was slightly tilted up as he looked down at her. She could feel his discomfort, the want to step back, but his pride bid him stay.

* * *

**"Please stay with me."**

* * *

**(41 minutes prior)**

"Please stay with me."

He slowly lowered his gaze to look at his hand, placed right above her heart. He could feel the hard pounding of her heart, it's fast, desperate beats. It unnerved him even more.

In a small, controlled panic, he had tried to casually pull his hand away, but Sakura held it in place, grasping it even tighter.

* * *

"**How troublesome…" His tone held not that of annoyance, but irritation, worry. Irritation at his inability to find someone. Those simple trademark words seemed to rumble out of his throat. **

"**Shikamaru..do you see her yet?" The voice held a tone of worry.**

"**No, we have to keep looking Chouji."**

**--**

"**I told you before…do not underestimate me.." He said this slowly, shakily, with determinaton. He slowly picked himself up, blood dripping from him.**

* * *

**(36 minutes prior)**

He tore his hand away from her.

"I can't believe you! If you would listen to me, I could give you more than enough reasons why I'm exactly what you DON'T need! Do you even know who I am? How can you throw everything away for a stranger, an S-class criminal? I haven't cared about anyone but myself and that's not about to change!"

"I know that...and it doesn't matter. I will always love you. And i will always wait."

* * *

"**I had a feeling you would come. Though I still wonder, why?"**

**--**

"**Neji!" Her voice seemed muffled, almost drowned out by the sounds of weapons clashing, of battle cries. She threw another kunai landing it expertly in the throat of another. She fought her way through till she could see him once again.**

**Her view moved through the whole crowd of fighting ninjas as she located the source of her searching. It seemed there was almost a straight line of free space between them, an opportunity, one that was fading quickly.**

* * *

**(30 minutes prior)**

"...I will leave you alone if you tell me the truth. ...Was it all a lie?" Her voice was ever quiet, gentle, hesitant in it's calmness.

"...It was a mistake. It will never happen again." His voice was ever monotone, flat, calm in it's finality.

--

**(25 ****minutes prior)**

"Do yourself a favor, and forget about me."

--

**(5 minutes prior)**

She had been running.

She had been running for quite some time now. The fatigue of her body not bringing her to halt, the craziness of her mind not bringing her to any type of thought, analyzation, conclusion. She didn't think to count the seconds, think to look behind her, only ahead. She couldn't really tell if she was out of breath, couldn't really feel the exhaustion her body was suffering, the burning of its muscles. The only thing she keenly aware of was the path in front of her, blurred and hazed by the thin sheet of tears that covered her eyes like a second layer. They hadn't fallen yet. That was really her only goal right now, to keep those inconvenient tears stored away, for a time when she would actually need them.

She didn't need them, now, right?She didn't need them ever, did she?

What had happened was nothing to cry over, right? Anything that happened to her, she was used to, she shouldn't have to cry about anything anymore. She had seen it all. And she had expected it, the moment that she ran away from, the feelings she was running away from. It was something she had already known. Something she had been expecting.

Then why did it make things that much harder?

She let out no surprised gasp nor noise as her foot crashed against the implanted root of a tree that was protruding and looping out of the earth. The only discernable sound was the thumping of her body against the soft , greenly luscious blades of grass. Instead of pushing herself back up, she rolled onto her back, as if the fall had dwindled her will to keep running; dull emerald orbs casted sight to the intriguing blue sky above, it's span decorated with slowly moving puffs of white clouds, it's sun shining with fiery elegance. Her gaze too mirrored the image of soft leaves departing from the surrounding trees, carried away by the same wind that ruffled her clothing and danced with her hair.

Haruno Sakura made no movement, her body both placid and un-motivated from where she lay. The area was heavily grassed, actually providing some spectacle of comfort, something she could have used at the moment.

* * *

"**Kakashi!" He slowed down to a halt, planting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "She's alive!" **

* * *

From a much higher view, Sakura's sprawled out body lay on a patch of grass, along an outstretched cliff, resembling that of a peninsula. Below the cliff lay more forest trees, though on either side of a very long, familiar path of sand and gravel.

--

She slowly closed her eyes as she just laid there, her breaths for air slowly becoming softer and more controlled. However they remained shakey, a sign of the great turmoil raging within her. The hopelessness.

She didn't know what she had been expecting.

She knew the limits, knew the consequences. She _knew _that it was a one time thing, he made sure to let her know, her common sense had even let her know before-hand. She thought that such knowledge would somehow make it easier, spare her the feeling of bereftness, loneliness, sensations that had tripled after that moment with him. She thought that that one moment would be enough for her, that she could continue her life with a smile, with hope afterwards. It was far from, and she was deliriously wrong. Wrong about everything. She told herself not to feel this way, she knew that it was selfish, knew that it was wrong of her to feel this way, to want more when he had made it clear for her that he couldn't give her any more. When he had sacrificed his own well-being and sane mind to give to her what he thought she had wanted. But, he did not give her what he wanted. She wanted more; most of all, she wanted time. And he could not give her that. She was selfish to ask for that.

And she was selfish to hate him for it.

To hate him for something that was her fault, not his. Not once did he ever promise her a thing, lead her on in any way, make it seem as if he felt something for her that he did not. He only kissed her out of pity, because he felt sorry for her. Because he wanted to make up for the past in a way that wouldn't make him have to stay for her future. And she let him. He only did so because she allowed it. It was selfish of her to even think of making him do otherwise, to stay with her. She hated herself for hating him. For hating the fact that he regretted every moment they had shared together, for the moment that they had met. Even when she regretted it herself. She regretted the moment they met as well. If they hadn't met, this wouldn't be happening. She wouldn't be in love with someone she could never be with. She wouldn't be away from the place she tried to call home for years, looking for a true home, for shelter in someone who didn't have the room in his heart to let her stay. For a moment, that moment, she had blinded herself from reality, knowing that it was what would bring her back to the realization that what she had wanted, that what she had needed, sought for, was impossible.

_**"Sakura…what you want..It's impossible."**_

For some reason , knowing it was impossible made it that much better , possibility only made someone hope for something only found in a child's bedtime story. They didn't fit the picture of a prince and maiden, of Romeo and Juliet, they had too many flaws, their worlds were too different.There was no happily ever after, they were ninjas, tools - they were only supposed to dream about being strong enough to fight, to protect what they cared for, not to love. And it was in that realization, that her dreams were impossible, that made it that much more adaptable, the pain.

However much she hated it, however much she regretted it, she accepted it. She could do nothing else. Because at one time, everything that happened was what she had wanted.

That one moment that she truly wanted, that he had the heart to give her, would be a once in a life time for her.

And she accepted it. Because he accepted it.

It was who he was, how he was, even though she didn't understand it. He couldn't be tied down by her, she would be his weakness, and sure as he had his enemies, he couldn't have a weakness. His life was the unknown, and part of her knew, even though she didn't understand it, that it was half the reason why he wouldn't return her aspirations.

It was something he had warned her about. Not vocally; he would never do that, but through his actions, his hesitance. That one moment, had made her realize the reality of it all, the reality that she could not have him. She could not be with him unless he decided it, there would be no convincing. She would not find out if he felt anything for her unless he allowed it. Yet there was still something she didn't understand about him - his reasons for what he did, his motives, what it was he would truly think behind his facades. She realized then and there that she didn't understand a single thing about him; and he had tried to tell her that, tried to make her understand at least that, but she couldn't. She couldn't understand him, why he did the things he did, why he couldn't just let go of his past, his ways, and repent. Just let himself be happy.

_**"Why don't you tell me, Sakura. When did i ever mention.. wanting happiness?"**_

It was that phrase alone that had made every part of her want happiness for him. He was satisified with the thought of living his whole life in misery, doing what he had to do to further his goals. and even now, that there were no goals before him, it was still the same. And she couldn't bear that. she couldn't bear the thought that he would always be alone, if he wasn't with her. Some part of her knew this. That he would travel his days in isolation, that he would travel further away from society, from moral and just ways. He would be martyr, die for a cause, and no one would know. No one would care. She couldn't let him live that kind of life. But it seemed as though there was no way. There was no way she could step into his heart without tracking in filth.

Without sticking him in another perilous situation.

She didn't know why no tears fell. She didn't know why, of all moments, she was thinking about what she would do, say, when she got back to Konoha. What lies she had to tell . Because that's all she was there. A lie. A facade. She wasn't herself in that village anymore. The only place where she was true, where she felt real, was in his arms. With Uchiha Sasuke. An idea, now, that she wouldn't be able to make into a reality. She wasn't selfish enough to keep him in her life if he didn't want to stay,; she wasn't strong enough to fight for him when she was unsure if he wanted her to fight; she wasn't stupid enough to believe that she could obtain closure while retaining hope. So she would hope no more, she would dream no more. She would just transition from day to day, doing what was necessary to exist, for the days when she would be needed. If he was going to continue the rest of his life suffering, then she would too. She could give him no less liberty. She could give herself no less of a break.

But as sure as she human, she wanted to be happy, she wanted to live. She didn't just want to exist. And she wanted more for him, she didn't just want Sasuke to exist either. So until the day she was strong enough, selfish enough, stupid enough to find him again, to fight for him, she would go on. She would leave him be.

And hoped that he would miss her enough to allow her that chance.

Her chest heaved, as a breath passed in and out of her. Emerald orbs fluttered open, and an arm raised to rest on her forehead, an act to block out the growing glare from the sun.

This time, when her eyes scanned the blue sky, there weren't just white, puffy clouds floating by, there was a long, streaming path of clouds, their color dirtied, gray to the point of black. They kept coming, the path's radius widening to a wave-like with of black-nothingness. It was then that the smell stung her nose.

Sakura abruptly rose into a sitting position, turning her body around to follow the trail of smoke. She noticed that she was on a cliff, but that did not occupy her concern. As she used what was left of her will to crawl towards the edge of the cliff, allowing miles of sight ahead, a huge gasp climbed out of her throat, her eyes grew wide as she placed herself on her hands and knees, turning to look at what rested a distance away from the cliff.

--

"**Sakura!"**

**--**

"**Sasuke!"**

**--**

"**Naruto!"**

**--**

--

**(Image)**

**(From a distance)**

There was cliff, one that overlooked the land, the forest below it. A part of this stretched out, somewhat like a ledge, it was heavily vegetated with grass, a few flowers managing to stay in bloom. On top of this ledge sat a figure, her pink hair flowing out to the side, dancing along with the wind. She was on her hands and knees, seemingly looking in the direction of the land below.

There was a village, embedded in the deep forest.Yet something wasn't right.

Smoke adorned the sky like clouds, coveting the once blue sky like a storm. The flaring fire replaced the sun's glare as they raged, its flames engulfing everything in its path.Pieces of a wall began to crumble in various places, huge gaps decorated it in numerous places.There were countless ninjas everywhere, fighting mercilessly, the glimmering of the metal on their weapons could be seen even from this far a distance.The forest around this village was completely decimated, it's trees lost to their foundations, the vegetation replaced by black debris, still simmering with smoke.

--

**(Konoha: 20 minutes prior)**

He slowly stepped out , his cerulean eyes wide, yet slowly to normal, a sort of eerie calmness direction his body movements, as orbs slowly transitioned back and forth towards places he was able to percieve. Observing, analyzing, searching. His blond, spiky hair partly reflected the orange-glow of the flames surrounding.

* * *

"**We only have one shot at this…teme." **

* * *

His calmness as he continued to walk was ever foreboding, mysterious - his stops prolonged, light.

The counterbalance to this was the silent intensity in his eyes. Anger, burning, smothering in their depths as he continued to look around with ease. As his ears were overwhelmed with the harmonies of explosions and screaming and clashing weapons. As his sensitive nose was tingled with the mingled smells - the blood, smoke, fires.

He paused however, as a few paces around the corner of an abandoned street lead him to all the action, his eyes settling a distance away on the huge, endless crowd of battles.

It was then that he disappeared, his destination clear.

* * *

**"I know..dobe."**

* * *

**Thanks For Reading!**

**Aaaand if you readers aren't to happy about the gaps with Sasu/Saku's convo's and everything that happened before the whole BOOM BOOM thingys, just tell me. And i think next chapter, i can put in flashbacks of the convo and stuff.**

**Or..we can just continue and get right into the action and what not. Fo sho.**

**OR..maybe do the whole next chapter normal, and just switch back between Sasu/Saku and Konoha, and all that stuff before the BOOM BOOM,which was what i was gonna originally do with this chapter. Yeppers, it's up to yous my beautiful Butterflies. Fo sho.**

**I love puppies.**

**But yea Reviews would be totally amazing... That Phillsbury Boy hasn't completley died yet. And that button is way too rusty.**


	33. Chap 32: Destruction

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the reviews! Sorry bout the last chap being confusing! Fo sho fo sho. As promised this update is pretty early I think. Hopefully it is haha.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series..the older Naruto in the series would have hair sorta like Yondaime's…and he would be so totally hot, though I have to say he looks pretty nice. GOOD JOB anime/manga peoples.

**Warnings: **Ums..just in case you couldn't figure this out yourselves, I have no doubt you are all very cunningly smart, but the words in bold in this chapter are basically just excerpts from the past, whether recent or very old. Sooo if you read last chapter, DUR, you might be able to pick up on a certain convo going on, and hopefully beam with glee as things start to make sense. Hopefully, if I wasn't to lame in producing this chapter.

But the convo isn't nearly complete, and as you'll notice, it almost seems to skip around BUT it's much more fillier than last chapter. Hopefull you'll put the pieces together. Fo sho.

Please Enjoy!!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 32: So Much Destruction, So Little Fighting Power.**

**--**

**--**

**--**

"_**Well for me, I had a lot of goals…"**_

"_**I had become a matchmaker for Naruto and Hinata..they are the cutest together, if only they'd realize it..but I think they are starting to get there…And Ino..I was still always trying to make sure I stayed ahead of her at everything..it all seems so silly now.."**_

The sky was as blue as can be, a few clouds adorning it's span. The sun was also shining brightly, it's rays decorating the outskirts of a forest. The forest seemingly cut off right before a huge cliff, which looked over more forest down below. In a certain area along this halted forest, lay a small part of the cliff that reached out, hovering even more so over the forest below. It surface was decorated with plentiful grass.

Upon lay a figure, arms sprawled out, head tiled high. A small smile graced her lips. Her emerald eyes, staring up at the sky, sparkled with unshed tears.

"_**I..had also wanted to become stronger.."**_

"_**Physically..for the time that might have come where I would fight, fight to bring back something that had long since been lost…"**_

"**_Mentally..for the time that might come when I have to forget something very important to me, to move on."_**

"**_Sakura..."_**

"**_If you haven't guessed already, that goal was you.."_**

The smile that graced her lips began to twist, changing from a small frown before stretching into a pursed line. Her throat moved up and down as she swallowed. Her breathing had finally slowed down to steady, silent breaths. For some reason she was calmer than she had imagined herself to be. She didn't care the reason, she felt lost, not completely in tune with her body and emotions. She almost didn't catch the twirk in her eyes as they spotted something that seemed odd in the sky.

This movement however, urged the bundle of tears piling up to finally spill, crawling down her face slowly seemingly without notice.

The clouds were white, nice and fluffy, there were no signs of a storm coming from anywhere else she could perceive..so why were there gray clouds, seemingly so out of place in position with the white ones? The curiosity was what led her eyes along the path of gray clouds, prompting her to sit up, turning her upper body around as her eyes sought to follow this peculiar path in the sky.

The gasp that erupted from her throat was sudden, full of surprise, horror. The movement of her body to face this event that had taken her attention, held her eyes wide was un-planned, automatic.

Same with the upbringing of her body onto her two shaky feet,;and the run to the immediate jump of the cliff, hanging more than 20 ft over the forest below. She was headed somewhere, somewhere at a very fast paste, her heart thumping in her chest widely, her eyes longing in the direction which she traveled.

----

"**_It's his choice to stay locked up in there, and it'll be his choice when he gets out.…He'll come around.."_**

As his elbow met with the unsuspecting victims abdomen, it left a horribly disfigured indentation, even as he flew a few yards back, falling upon the ground to lie still. He would not get up from that, the headband once secured tightly on his head slid over his eyes. The insignia carved in the metal resembled that of a music note, of Sound.

"**_..Especially with this war going on, he's not the type to sit around idly if we were to come under attack." _**

His cerulean eyes wasted not one more glance at the now dead shinobi as he continued walking through wreckages of a once vibrant village. Now, filled with screaming, explosions rumbling it's core, bodies decorating it's paved roads. The sounds were distant to his ears, seemingly dulled out, by the other sensations that were running through him.

The way he walked foreshadowed that of impending doom for any who crossed his path. It spoke of a deep, writhing anger, slowly seeping out, becoming part of his every movement, his every attack. He walked, letting his senses take in his all of his surrounding, perceiving all the destruction. There were shinobi all around him, fighting, killing, getting killed. Those who bore the carved insignia of a leaf on their forehead protectors snapped there heads to him, eyes wide with recognition and surprise, supporting the theory that they hadn't seen him in quite some time. There was also relief.

He also spared them nothing but a glance, his raging yet calm cerulean eyes seemingly looking for someone, and it seemed nothing could stop him.

He carelessy tossed a kunai, his eyes not having to follow as he knew it would hit it's impending target. He killed any and all opposing shinobi he saw, whether they came at him or cowered away. He would kill them all.

As expected, more came, unknowing to their guaranteed deaths. One by one, they went down, doing nothing to halt, nothing to impede his advance. As more and more came, he proceeded to dispose of them with much faster speed, his slow walk inching forward in pace. It wasn't long before he was running, his eyes wildly searching; there was a hint of worry. Emotions steadily starting to grow stronger.

----

People, civilians were running everywhere, screaming, trying to find a safe place to hide. Among them were ninjas, shinobi.

They were fighting. Killing. Dying. Some, trying their hardest to protect those scrambling, running away, trying to find some refuge, some place safe, but now, there was none. Some, were opposite, killing the helpless, fighting the ones who seemed to protect. The many headbands adorned various places of their bodies gleamed, reflecting the burning fires.

Explosions were apparent every few seconds, more and more rubble falling down, more and more fires starting.

It's fires brilliant, it's walls, adorned with huge gaps standing tall, it streets filled with clashing shinobi.

This was the Hidden Village of Konoha.

----

"_**What would you be Neji?"**_

"Neji!" Her voice seemed muffled, almost drowned out by the sounds of weapons clashing, of battle cries. She threw another kunai landing it expertly in the throat of another. She fought her way through till she could see him once again.

"_**A rock."**_

Her view moved through the whole crowd of fighting ninjas as she located the source of her searching. It seemed there was almost a straight line of free space between them, an opportunity, one that was fading quickly.

"Neji!" She cried out again.

It was then that her chocolate eyes caught sight of shimmering pearl, it's irises expanding in size for a short moment before returning to their serious, in depth concentration. The holder of the eyes swiftly moved pointed hands into various points on various people. Around him, shinobi, all adorned in Sound headbands were falling quickly, resembling the effect of dominos. The chakra points attacked were fatal.

His eyes refocused on the one who had shouted his name, spotting her through that brief straight line of opening.

"_**Only the wind?"**_

"Tenten!" As soon as the name escaped his lips the opening that brought them insight faded, more bodies of fighting shinobi filling it's depths. As he continued to fight, his eyes sought to find her again, his body sought to move ground, a goal seemingly impossible at the moment. There were too many, and they were coming to fast. He could do nothing but remain in place, continuing to fight.

"**_.. If the wind were to suddenly go away, almost as suddenly as it had came..the rock wouldn't know what to do."_**

----

"_**Those Sharingan are useless to you this battle. You may be able to see my every move, but your body is not fast enough to keep up."**_

His body preformed a series of sideways flips, using his two legs to land blows to two Sound enemy. Right after he grabbed the same two Sound nins and smashed their heads together, rendering them unconscious. More came at the taijitsu specialist. A green spandex body suit could be perceived only a fraction of a second as its wearer seemingly disappeared and reappeared behind one of them, planting his two feet on the shinobi's shoulders.

Shocked, the enemy looked up, only to receive a smirk.

Rock Lee lifted both his feet, moving them in different directions, one in front of the nin's head, and one in the back. Attaining all the force he desired, he brought his right foot; which was in the back, to the Nin's head with incredible force. He flew forward to the ground.

Lee went with him, landing on the shinobi's back. He catapulted off of him, performing a back flip while letting his feet meet the heads of two others, bringing them stumbling towards the ground.

As he found a small moment of rest, he dropped down to one knee, quickly unbuckling the mechanism that held the weights to his ankles. From the small drop not even a centimeter from the ground, the weights impounded the earth, leaving small craters beneath them.

It was the more shinobi came at him. He almost didn't avoid the attack, having to solely rely his actions on prediction, these ones seemed to fight differently than the ones before, their movements faster, smarter.

At that moment he found himself desiring the eyes that would allow him to see his enemy's actions.

----

The sound of snapping twigs, and rustling grass could be heard as slow footsteps came one after another. Also, the sound of running water accompanied this, along with the whistling of various birds.

He had his eyes trained ahead of him, his goal to focus only on the path ahead. Though calm and composed, he seemed in a hurry to try and pass this part of the forest he was in, seemingly a clearing. After a few more steps he came to an abrupt halt, letting out a sigh of irritation. His onyx eyes reluctantly rolled to look at the cabin to his right. They lingered there for a while, seemingly in contemplation, or more so self chastisement. He looked ahead once again, a look of contempt adorning his eyes. He then took his first step to his right, in the direction of the cabin.

He paused at the door.

**Flashback**

He used his foot to push open the door, his hands occupied by the woman his arms. His lips occupied by the woman in his arms.

**End Flashback**

He quietly entered, the door producing a slight creak as he did so. The only source of light in the cabin was that provided by the small beams of light peaking through the window; hardly enough to provide much light. Though he needed none, he was able to move around easily through memory. He made his way to where he knew the bed was. He looked down at it.

**Flashback**

From their standing position, he slowly lowered them down, letting her back gently fall onto the bed, her head onto the pillow. He gently went down with her, his lips never leaving hers.

**End Flashback**

He slowly, almost reluctantly sat down on the bed. He brought a hand behind his neck, slowly rubbing it. He then clasped his hands together, leaning forward. He was very frustrated, not knowing why he had even come in here, why he was sitting here. The last place he wanted to be.

It only reminded him of things he wanted to forget, of things that should not have happened.

**Flashback**

He sat on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped together, his body slightly leaning forward. After a while he sighed, slowly rubbing his neck in frustration.. As he did so his gaze traveled to the sleeping face of the person lying in the bed. She looked peaceful, content. She was tightly wrapped up in the blanket, an exposed leg slightly peaking out.

**End Flashback**

Letting out an agitated noise he shot up from the bed, making his way towards the door. He pushed it open with so much force that it was knocked off it's hinges. He immediately stepped over the tumbling continuing in the direction he was going before, though this time moving with much haste, seeking to cover as much distance as possible.

"_**Sakura..what you want..it's impossible."**_

"_**What is it about being with me that is so hard?"**_

"…"

"_**Sasuke, tell me. I'd really like to know…Impossible? You leaving the life of an avenger is impossible, after all the sacrifices you made, after all the pain you suffered. That's impossible..yet you did it. You finally did it.. Why can't you do it again?"**_

His onyx eyes squinted slightly, frustration evident.

"_**We live different lives…"**_

"_**Different lives?"**_

"_**I kill people. You save them. I'm an S-class criminal, you're a highly respected Kunoichi."**_

"_**Does that really matter?"**_

"_**You can't live happily always running away. Never going to Konoha to see your family, friends."**_

"**_I won't say it wouldn't be hard..but… missing them is nothing to missing you. I'll go with you, wherever, for however long.."_**

"_**You can't leave everything you've worked for."**_

"_**I can. And I would in a heartbeat."**_

"_**Why?"**_

"_**Because you're worth it."**_

**Flashback**

She made her way in front of him, closing the distance between them. His head was slightly tilted up as he looked down at her. She could feel his discomfort, the want to step back, but his pride bid him stay.

She gently reached for one of his clenched hands, grasping it with both of hers. She then looked up, catching his eyes. She continued to bring his hand up further, bringing it to touch the place above her heart.

He slowly lowered his gaze to look at his hand. He could feel the hard pounding of her heart, it's fast, desperate beats. It made him even more so uncomfortable. In a small, controlled panic, he had tried to casually pull his hand away, but Sakura held it in place, grasping it even tighter.

"Please stay with me." Her statement was honest and thrilling in it's vulnerability.

**End Flashback**

It was then that he came to an abrupt halt. He stood there a few moments, his head bowed down, his fists clenched.

"**_I decided a long time ago..I don't care how much it hurts, I don't want to forget you. I won't…You can leave..but don't do so expecting me to forget you.. after months, years, because I won't."_**

He slowly lifted up his head, revealing his troubled, contemplating eyes. His whole body began to tremble as he stood there.

"_**I've done a lot of things these past years. When you find out, what makes you so sure you'd want to be with me?"**_

"_**..I already know that.."**_

"_**Know what, that I've killed hundreds of people, innocent people? Women, children. Men who simply looked at me the wrong way?"**_

"_**..Everyone..has done things they're not proud of."**_

"_**I found pleasure in killing people.."**_

"**_Though..not anymore, right? See Sasuke, you can change, you just need to let me in..please.."_**

Something was happening to him. He began replaying events in his mind, calculating, thinking. Regretting. At that moment, he felt like the most idiotic moron. Lately he had been making the biggest mistakes he would ever make in his lifetime. If there was anytime, it would be now. He would change. He would correct all those mistakes he had made.

He would fight once more for something that was important to him. Sacrifice whatever necessary, be it his pride, or even his life.

_Sakura_

He took off, in the opposite direction he had been traveling, along the same path he had traveled before. He ran as fast as he could, his determined eyes longing in the direction he traveled.

----

"I had been right next to her.." His voice was full of discontent, a sort of worried irritation, guilt.

"Shikamaru, It's not your fault man. You didn't know it was going to explode."

**Flashback**

He was leaning across the counter, his elbow bent up, providing his hand to be foundation for his head to rest on. With his free hand he literally dropped the money into the customer's hand, pushing the bundle of flowers in the same direction, doing nothing to make eye contact.

The woman gave him look of haughtiness before snatching the flowers and walking away from the counter. He seemed to notice this, snarling at her back as she waked out the door. He was not in a good mood.

Just as soon another woman came from behind the counter, out of a room that was no doubt filled with even more flowers. Her once again long, blonde hair swayed behind her. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked at the bundle of flowers in her hand. Just as soon they looked in curiosity at the woman just exiting the shop.

It only took a moment for everything to click in her head.

"Shikamaru!" Her voice was soft, not at all aggravated, yet reprimanding. She seemed to be in a good mood. "Stop scaring away the customers. And stop scowling."

He sighed, his eyes lazily traveling to watch her as she placed the bundle of flowers in another vase. He looked away as she turned towards him. In his peripheral vision, he noticed that she stayed in that position facing him, still not moving. Curiosity drove his eyes to glance back at her, noticing that she was looking at him.

Seemingly on que she jumped right in front of him, trying to startle him. Instead, he simply remained in his leaned position on the counter, lazily looking at her. He still looked irritated. A huge smile on her face, she leaned towards him.

"Shikamaru.." The tone to her voice was soft, enticing.

Shikamaru let out an annoyed response, his eyebrow lifting.

"CHEER UP!!" Simultaneously both of her hands planted themselves on either side of his face, making a light slapping motion. Just as soon she turned away, a huge smile still on her face. She made her way into the back room again.

Shikamaru shook his head, letting out another annoyed grunt, only this time, a small grin momentarily replaced his scowl.

"Troublesome girl.."

He continued leaning his chin on his hand. His eyes moved to the door as he heard someone coming. Though his expression grew curious and his head lifted off of his hand as the person entered.

"We're under attack!!" The messenger immediately disappeared out the door once again.

_What?_

Letting out another grunt of annoyance, he lazily walked out the shop. It all looked pretty normal to him. He let out another annoyed grunt, getting ready to go back inside. But he paused as he caught the sound of the Konoha Bells ringing. Along with that of a distant explosion, one strong enough to cause the whole ground of Konoha to tremble.

Just as soon his eyes caught sight of something small traveling towards the area where he was with a sort of curved flight. It seemed to be falling. His eyes widened when he realized what it was.

"Kuso!" He dropped on to the ground preparing to run inside the shop. His intention to bring another out.

He had no time as an explosion deafened his ears, a flash blinded his sight, and a blast sent him flying, rendering him unconscious.

**End flashback**

His mouth twisted as an aggravated noise erupted between clenched teeth. One of his hands were positioned on his ribs, corresponding the look of pain that also adorned his face. It was also adorned with blots of dry blood.

The two sank from their jump in mid air only to push off another rooftop as they continued. Their eyes took the role of searching every street.

----

It could be heard from miles away.

The screaming, the clashing of weapons.

"**_Why Sakura? Why do you keep doing what you're doing?"_**

"_**..What am I doing?"**_

"_**You're not stupid, Sakura."**_

"**_Maybe I am. I know how much you hate me, but I can't stop what I feel for you. I don't want to."_**

"**_I can't believe you!_** **_If you would listen to me, I could give you more than enough reasons why I'm exactly what you DON'T need! I haven't cared about anyone but myself and that's not about to change!"_**

"**_Sasuke.."_**

"_**I should never have.I can't believe I actually tried to- and we..."**_

Her tears sparkled in a trail behind her. She didn't know why she was crying. She didn't really care. Her mind was focused on the path ahead of her.

"_**I wish we never met."**_

As she ran, she grew closer and closer to the sounds, closer and closer to the village that was under attack. Her sight of Konoha had long since been gone from the time she jumped off the cliff. All that caught her eyes was an extended path of forest. Her heart was beating wildly, her breathing somehow slow, yet desperate.

_Everyone..hold on_

----

A small group of shinobi jumped out of the way as a giant snake fell to the ground, simulating a small quake as it did so. It let out one last hiss before it became still.

"This is bad…" Kakashi muttered as he looked down at the snake, who's head surpassed the size of his own body. His eyes then traveled to look around him, at the destruction. His keen sense of smell only nauseated him as his nostrils breathed in blood. His superior hearing only provided headaches as explosion after explosion rocked Konoha, weapon after weapon clashed, and battle cries and screaming echoed.

"Tell me about it." The deep voice of Asuma came from his side as he also stood, taking deep breaths to catch his breath.

They looked back to the snake lying on the ground.

"Do you think?" Might Gai pondered gravely, with suspicion.

"But it's been three years. His new body must be decaying by now. He wouldn't risk coming out in the open, starting a war unless he was expecting-." Kurenai cut off in the middle of her sentence. Looking at the others as they all thought of the same thing.

"Sasuke.." Kakashi spoke as if he had just figured it out. They all seemed to agree silently.

"Why would he expect Sasuke to come here? There's no reason for an S-class criminal to return, it'd be suicide." Asuma tried to deny.

"Him coming out into the open after all this time proves that he is very confident Sasuke will come here. Why, I don't know." Kakashi finished.

They all didn't add to the discussion, agreeing now was not the time to discuss. Coincidentally, all their gazes shifted to the source of more rumbling, another large snake not to far away.

"Should we help him?" Asuma grinned.

There was a lone shinobi fighting it, seemingly doing a good job on his own. From a distance, the figures qualities looked similar to that belonging to the legendary sannin by the name of Jiraiya.

"I don't know, it's kinda fun watching."

They all shared a grin before jumping up on the rooftops, seemingly making their way towards the giant snake.

----

"_**It was a mistake. It will never happen again."**_

"Haaagh!" She let out a small battle cry as she shoved her fist into the ground. Instantly the ground in front of her cracked, breaking up the earth as a powerful tremble broke up more ground yards in front of her. Surprised, but cut off yells could be heard as all the shinobi in the area were caught in the tremble falling with the tearing ground.

The group of maybe a hundred shinobi bearing the headband for sound were no more. Her emerald eyes scanned the area in front of the gates, which was now broken up on no small part due to her, though free of any hostile.

Her eyes then caught sight of all the destruction past the gates, inside.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. There were bodies everywhere. The roaring of the flames was nothing compared to the screams, at a much more discernable noise from the close proximity. She began to slightly tremble herself.

The walls surrounding were still standing, thought huge gaps and cracks were evident. Inside, past the gates, she couldn't count the thousands of shinobi crowding every space, both on street and rooftop. Her heart threatening to jump out of her throat, and her slow, shaky breaths becoming more and more frequent, she started walking towards the gates.

When she stepped past the gates, her breath halted as she got another look. She abruptly stopped, her horror stricken eyes looking up past the gates.

This moment was brief as she caught sight of a group of enemies coming her way. Even as they were running at her, her emerald eyes shifted to look at the destruction once more, seemingly trying to get over the shock. She then refocused on the enemy. She let out an un-discernable noise, a release of breath. Without another glance, she started walking, soon picking up her speed till she was in full sprint towards the enemy.

"_**Do yourself a favor, and forget about me."**_

----

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!!!**

**Hope it wasn't so bad! And those little excerpts I put in there, the ones for Sasu/Saku, definitely was not all of them from the convo, just main, huge bits and pieces. Buuuut I think that's all I'm gonna put. Yep, so definitely by next chapter you'll understand even more so the futuristic scenes from last chapter. **

**The REAL action will start next chapter!**

**So get ur popcorn and whatever else suits your fancy and enjoy!..well when it comes out.**


	34. Chap 33: Martyring

**A/N: **Aaaah! Wow this whole past week it wouldn't let me log in, it kept saying "We are currently experiencing heavier than expected traffic and are unable to fulfill your request at this time. Please come back later. Thank you." I was like wtf? THE WHOLE WEEK. I came on every day, about every 3 hours, same exact thing. So basically, that shaved off a weeks time of a semi-what early update. It was done, I promise! Soo that's pretty much the reason, but I guess I'll still apologize! Btw..THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!! You guys make my heart smile, and my mouth jump with glee.

Speaking of smiles, it was so hilarious. Have you guys ever seen someone try to smile, when they either cant, or at the moment really don't want to? And it looks so funny cause the corner of their mouths tries to scrunch up. Absolutely hilarious sight. Hahoo man.

Please Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I now officially own the Naruto series...yep i finally did it. Yea, instead of saving up a bunch of money to out-buy them...i just went on ahead and uh..well actually i think i'll just keep it a secret..but chea. Prepare for AMAY-zing Naruto episodes from now on. WOOT WOOT.

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 33:Martyring  
**

**--**

**--**

**--**

His frustrated eyes still continued to scan every single area around him. The tiled panels of the rooftops were a constant blur to him now; his vision temporarily blinded by the multicolored flames of the fires burning. He was weaving his way around the battling, more concerned with finding someone.

The sound of his sandals hitting the concrete almost seemed to echo throughout the closed space. He was in a narrow alley way, running its length, twisting through corridors, only to soon be met with yet another wall.

Letting out a silent curse he backtracked before jumping on the roof, resuming his search. As soon as he did so, his eyes glanced at the figure coming towards him. It was Chouji. He made his way to his side as the two continued to travel.

"Any sign of her?" It was an honest, curious question, containing no tone other than that.

"Maybe I would have a sign if you remembered where you found me." Shikamaru shot back. His voice held a tone of deep irritation.

"Whoa whoa, sorry man. Maybe you should have remembered where the flower shop was, since you were in there all time… and hey, you're not the only one worried alright?"

Shikamaru let out a small sigh. Under normal circumstances he probably would have apologized. But right now, he had no desire to. Keeping his mouth shut at the moment was the best thing he could do.

"We have to keep looking." He finally said.

--

His slightly wide eyes stared off into the distance, a sort of disbelief embedded. It was short lived, however, as a silent fury replaced it, his fists clenching very tightly. He immediately started his sprint, jumping off the nearby cliff into the forest below. He was now running along a very familiar path, through the shrubs and trees of the forest. Pushing through them he made it onto a long dirt path that would lead him to his destination.

"Kuso!"

--

Sakura jumped in the air, her pink locks spinning around with her as she kicked the side of a Sound shinobi's head. She landed gracefully on the ground, taking a deep breath before straightening up to a standing position.

_I have to find everybody_

The beads of perspiration on her head showed that she had been fighting for quite some time as she made her way through the village of Konoha. A few scratches and smears of dirt adorned her skin.

Her emerald eyes scanned the area as she took long, deep breaths.

She had to hold her balance as another larger tremor shook the earth._  
_

Sakura jumped onto a nearby rook before jumping onto other, much taller roof. Her emerald eyes, scanned Konoha once again. It was then that she noticed the huge beasts in various places. They were in the form of large snakes, towering over Konoha, causing destruction in their wake.

An image of Orochimaru flashed in her mind.

_It can't be..but where?_

She looked around, trying to find any location where he could have been, if he really was there. She found none. He must have been hiding; those snakes were the exact same ones from all those years ago, in that forest, they were definitely his doing.

Without a word she made her way towards the closest beast, knowing they had to be stopped before she could do anything.

--

The Hyuuga manor was one of the only areas that hadn't been grazed by the fires, it's buildings breached by the Shinobi bearing the Sound insignia. Hiashi Hyuuga stood along the green grace, right in front of its entrance. As each came, he quickly disposed of them with a simple stabbing like motion of his pointed fists. He was calm, and seemed at ease.

To his side was a younger woman, her once short locks of hair now at medium's length. She was fighting as well, with the same ease as her father. But something seemed to be bothering her, she seemed to be in a sort of anxiety, a well hidden worry etched in her eyes. She had been there, fighting for some time now, thought it wasn't all at once, just every once and a while when one would come.

"Hinata."

Whilst fighting, her pearl eyes traveled to look into his.

"Be careful."

Her eyes seemed to widen a bit as she tried to comprehend what he meant, but relief soon replaced. She gave him a quick nod in thanks before sprinting out of the Hyuuga manor, and into the rest of Konoha.

--

She couldn't stop the weak coughs that racked her body. The air she was forced to breathe in was polluted with smoke and dust. A long line of blood ran down from her head, her whole body and clothing covered in dirt and scratches.

Her mind was still hazy as she unconsciously sought to move from the uncomfortable position she was in. She was trapped under huge pieces of rebel, as well as on top of some. The area all around her was almost completely caved in, pieces of random metal sticking out everywhere. The room was lit up by an orangey glow, due to the fires being the only source of light.

Slightly opening her eyes, she let out a few more coughs, her eyes trying to scan the area around her, though she was weak. With seemingly no determination her hands traveled to lightly grasp the rebel on top of her. She hardly applied pressure, finding herself more dizzy as she did so.

In the daze she was in, she hardly noticed the heat of the flaring flames all around the building, spreading with each moment.

--

People all around were scattering, tumbling over each other in order to get out of it's way. Among them were both Sound and Konoha Shinobi, as well as citizens. This was one of the many areas with a high concentration of yelling and screaming.

"Damn it all!" A lone shinobi with the insignia of the leaf stopped running with the crowd, and stood his ground in front of the large snake, trying to give leeway to the scurrying citizens. This action caused the snake to slow down to a halt a few yards in front of him, its eyes glaring and its tongue sizzling in a hiss. The lone shinobi glanced around him, seeing that all the people had made a great distance from the snake, which had been his goal. The many people scurrying away made long distance from him and the beast, which otherwise would not have happened.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he slowly took out a kunai, opening his eyes to meet the snake's. He already knew it was futile.

A close group of shinobi looked back behind them to see the reason why the snake had stopped in its pursuit. Their eyes slightly widened as they looked at the lone shinobi. Sharing a quick glance, a few others stopped, turning to travel in the opposite direction, making their way to his side. They all gazed up at the snake, eyes intense. The first who had stopped, the no longer lone shinobi, seemed to glance at them all in surprise, then quickly appreciation.

Their kunai's were at hand, and their unsure gazes looked up to the snake towering above them. As if one que, and letting out a large hiss, the large beast's head dove towards them, it's fangs poised for the kill. They did not move their ground, only brought their arms ups, kunai's at hand.

Just as it seemed like it would collide with them, a blur passed in front of them. The snake hissed in agony, immediately bringing it's head up to move it from side to side in pain. A lone kunai had been lodged in one of its eyes.

The shinobi's surprised eyes looked to woman who was immediately on the snake yet again. They were still in the same position, arms brought up with their kunais at hand. Their eyes seemed to widen more, gasps erupting from their throats as they realized who the person was.

"I-It can't be!" One of them hushed in disbelief.

But pink kept flashing in their eyes; and as the snake dove towards them yet again, they got an even clearer look at her physical qualities. Her emerald eyes flashed in their view for not even a second as she let out a battle cry, jumping in the air to perform a very powerful spin kick.

"S-Sakura-san!" They all simultaneously muttered in monotone.

The beast hissed in anger as it fell to its side, but immediately was up again. Instead of diving towards her, its head tilted back before snapping forward, a squirt of venom ejecting from its fangs. Sakura rolled to the side, barely dodging it. Though as the venom made contact with the ground it splattered, little specs nicking her. Her tongue clicked in pain, as her body recoiled. She quickly looked to see the small spots of burnt skin on her arm, one on her cheek, right below her eye.

Now her right eye was slightly squinting, the burning sensation from the venom threatening to blind her. Her eyes then snapped to the snake once again as it dove for her. She rolled to the side once again, though this time quickly counter-attacked, lodging another kunai in its remaining eye.

The shriek that came from the snake this time was piercing with its loudness. It brought on a series of hissing, as the beast started to thrash about blindly. Though as it still sensed her, it thrashed its tail about in her direction, simple swings leveling the nearby buildings. She jumped back a few feet to avoid this.

Wasting no time, Sakura let out a small grunt as she slammed her charka filled fist into the ground. The earth all around instantly broke up, causing the snake to fall down, caught by the many cracks and crevices of the earth. Stuck, it still hissed violently as it sensed her presence. She then ran towards the snake, pulling out a huge windmill shuriken. Twirling it around in her hand as she ran, she jumped up between the broken earth, running along the length of the snakes body. She ran the shuriken along it, all the way until the head.

The head was still moving as it hissed at her lowly. She looked at it for a moment, before letting out a small battle cry stabbed the shuriken into it's throat, using her foot to dig in further. For some reason it seemed like she was taking her anger out on the beast, on whoever crossed her path, and she was merciless.

Her eyes were trained on the lifeless snake as she breathed heavily, her face almost seemed to be twisted in anger, but a more so stoic look was present on her face. She brought up a hand, wiping the area under her eye, where the venom had singed. She then grabbed hold of the shuriken, wrenching it out of the snake; some of its blood squirted out as she did this, covering her hand.

Tearing her eyes away from the snake, she jumped back, performing a back flip as she did so, this put her on the solid ground right before the broken up earth. She then let out one last big breath, seeming calmer. For some reason, she felt a lot better.

"Sakura!"

Her head turned to the side as her curious emerald eyes looked at the caller.

--

"Sakura!" He had stopped, positioned on top of a roof as he looked around frantically. It was hard to see with the numerous amounts of fires flaring everywhere. Growling in irritation, he jumped down, quickly fighting his way through crowds of shinobi.

--

"It's you! It really is you!" They all stopped in front of her, a relieved look in their eyes. They were the shinobi whom she had just saved.

Sakura was about to give them a smile, but her head snapped to her right as a movement caught her eye. It was too sudden as an attack sent her flying back. She landed on her back, skidding to a halt. She hardly had time to wince in pain as the attacker came again. She brought a kunai, barely meeting the kunai diving towards her.

It was all she could do to keep the kunai stationary; their kunais wavering with the power struggle.

Emerald eyes widened as she looked up at her attacker.

--

Her large breaths could be heard throughout the silent house. She ran through each room, finding proof that the person whom she was looking for was not there. Her pearl eyes wavering, and she let out a noise of dismay as she bolted out of the house.

--

He was getting very tired of this. He was getting very irritated. Most of all, he was getting infuriated.

The numbers kept increasing, the attacking ceased to stop. Even with his Byakaguun he could not see through the huge crowds of fighting, he could not see her. Closing his eyes, he lowered even further into a fighting position. Immediately a huge seal appeared underneath him, stretching out along the huge span of shinobi. The bluish glow emanated brightly, lighting up the small area.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Neji's hands were angled in the familiar deadly point, his fingers poised and ready to strike. He stabbed his hands forwards into a shinobi, in a series of two heavy strikes. His attacks switched to another, delivering another two. He proceeded in this way, switching to a new shinobi every two hits. He moved his way up with four, followed by eight, followed by sixteen, followed by a dazzling thirty-two consecutive pinpoint-precision strikes, totaling to the fatality of thirty-one Sound shinobi.

"Hakke Hyaku Nijuhachi Sho!" Neji continued stabbing his hands forward. Executing sixty-four consecutive pin-point precision strikes, followed by a whopping one hundred-twenty-eight strikes. The huge area of shinobi around him decreased drastically as he did this. After his final hit, his body halted, and his knees bent, as he slightly slid from the momentum. As he came to stop, he let out a small breath, almost like a sigh. Where normally that technique would have drained him, he was perfectly fine, years of training allowing him to do so much more than that.

His pearl eyes then looked around, much abler to see the two buns planted atop a female's head, perfectly held even with her battling.

Tenten jumped back, readying three kunais with one hand, wasting not a second as she threw them, excellent precision landing them directly in throats. Her breaths were slightly heavy, and she was inwardly grateful for the time she spent training in close combat, rather than just with weaponry, she wouldn't have lasted this long. Letting out a rough, growling battle cry she shoved her fist forward into an enemies face before dropping down and tripping him.

She flipped another over as he came from behind. But just as she did so, another came too fast. She was hardly able to bring up her arms to block. Luckily he wasn't armed with a kunai, but the force of the blow sent her flying back.

And as she thought she would hit the ground, she found herself letting out a small gasp as someone caught her from behind. She looked up, ready to attack, but stopped when she noticed pearl eyes. She didn't stop him as he quickly reached in to her weapons pouch, pulling out a kunai. The kunai was sent straight into the enemies head.

It was then that her chocolate orbs scanned the area, noticing they were gone. She couldn't help the small grin that came to her face. He had totally cleared the whole area of all those shinobi. She glanced up to him again, with a small smile.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Are _you _okay?" She asked back. Neji let out a small smirk.

"We have to find everybody else." He said. She quickly nodded.

--

"Why..." He muttered. His tone was dangerously low.

He swiftly turned, his orange and black jumpsuit blurring as his fist dug into the abdomen of a Sound shinobi coming at him. Another came just as soon, only to be met by an upper cut.

"..are you guys.." The bones in another face broke as his fist slammed into it. The next one was elbowed in the same manner. He swiftly threw one over his head into another crowd of oncoming enemies, knocking them down like dominos. Allowing them no room to rise, he stretched out one hand before using his other to make charka like patterns in a compressed circular movement. The swirling blue charka almost instantly formed, spinning smoothly.

"..Here again?!" He slammed his ransengan filled fist into the ground, the middle of the huge pile of shinobi. The blue-like charka created a small, yet deadly spherical explosion.

--

He had long since been in the abandoned part of the village, home to some of the more wretched flames. Atop one of the roofs, he kept looking around, trying to find any hint to where she could possibly be. But the village was too big for that, and his patience wiring thin.

"Kuso!" He was about to take off, but a huge snake appeared out of nowhere, immediately diving towards him.

Letting out an irritated growl, he took out a large shuriken. Without making another sound, as the snake was about to collide, he spun three-hundred- sixty degrees, holding his arm out with the shuriken. The remnants of the spherical motion made by the shuriken could been seen for an instant on the snake. The snake split open as it fell past Sasuke, it's head cut off from the simple movement.

Right after, another appeared.

_What the hell?_

Sasuke's obsidian eyes looked at the snake coming towards him. Using the same shuriken, he jumped up onto it's head, shoving the weapon into it's head. He rode down with the falling snake, jumping off of the beast right before it hit the ground. He then stood there, waiting for another snake to come out of nowhere, when it didn't, he made his way back onto the roof. He looked around once more, his eyes narrowed in a sort of speculation.

(Song: Naruto - Orochimaru's Theme)

He prepared to take off yet again, starting his first few running steps, but all too soon came to a complete halt, shoving a fist into his pocket as he did so. He did this casually, but his countenance had become completely still, and his obsidian orbs were now replaced by deadly Sharingan. His gaze was focused out of the corner of his eye, looking at something a distance behind him.

"It's been quite some time, Sasuke-kun."

--

(continuation of Orochimaru's Theme)

"Hm..I had expected to kill you with this swing. Impressive, Sakura-san." He seemed to speak with ease as he continued to apply pressure to the kunai. He used his free hand to casually push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

_Kabuto_

From her position on the ground, Sakura only looked up at him, though surprise evident on her face, she did not reply.

"Sakura-san!" Her head snapped to her side at the call, seeing those same shinobi moving to their position. She looked back to Kabuto who took a glance at them, grinning.

"You guys get out of here!" She warned. She let out a small grunt as she gave a hard push on her kunai, throwing Kabuto back a few steps. She immediately did a small back flip onto her hands and feet.

"But Sakura-san-"

"Go!" She dodged a punch, immediately crouching down to under-kick, but Kabuto seemingly disappeared.

Unsure looks in their eyes, the shinobi took off, determined to look for help.

From her crouched position, she slowly straightened up into a standing position. Her emerald eyes followed them as they ran off in the distance, the small look of relief was hardly noticeable, becoming completely transparent as her gaze traveled to look at the figure a few yards in front of her.

He casually raised one of his hands up, it was covered in charka. (Remember his medical skills: tamper with internal organs, movement, the works)

Her stern gaze did not waver as she looked at him, her face continuing to hold that stoic look.

--

"Orochimaru, huh." His voice was emotionless, cold as he fully turned his body to fully look at the figure behind him. "You look..uncomfortable." He added this as he took a good look.

The "body" Orochimaru was in looked to be decaying. Long ago, his snake-like eyes were able to be seen, exposed by the part of the face that had now peeled off. He seemed to be sweating, and he looked to be, a little more than uncomfortable. Though a foreboding grin was planted on his face, a look of confidence, anxiousness adorned as well. And as he continued to eat Sasuke with his eyes, his mouth opened slightly, it almost seemed he would drool at any moment.

"I knew you would come here, Sasuke-kun.." A tone of sick amusement was in his tone.

Sasuke slowly, yet casually brought a hand up to rest on his neck, where the curse seal was. He grasped it tightly, signifying that it was burning intensely, but otherwise it was unknown through his stoic demeanor.

"It burns because you have been away from me for some time now. But you won't have to worry about that soon enough."

"Aa." He started, seemingly not caring. He brought down his hand, placing it in his open pocket. "I assume you are the one behind all this." He took a casual glance to the destruction taking place not so far away. His stern eyes then refocused onto Orochimaru's.

"What is your purpose here." He asked impassively.

"Why, there are many reasons, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

**Gracis Para Leyendo!**

**Why is it that the plural of 'Goose' is 'Geese', but the plural of 'Moose' isn't 'Meese'? **

**So ums..i hope that wasn't to short of a chapter! Don't worry, I have all your best interests and preferations at heart, really.**

**Until next time my loves!**


	35. Chap 34: Thesis Statement

**A/N: **Thanks a bunch of cinnamon struesel muffins for the reviews everyone! I appreciate them!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series, Naruto would also be in look with Cinnamon Struesel muffins cause..man..they are AMAY-zing. They would be his favorite must have sweet after he ate his ramen...OR..actually Sasuke, even though he doesn't like sweets, would LOVE them. they would be his only acception...wow..i love those things.

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 34: Thesis Statement **

**--**

**--**

**--**

A small family of three lay huddled up in a corner, looking up with fearful eyes at their attacker.

"Look at these pathetic people!" The holder of the voice bore a headband with the insignia of the Sound on it.

"I say they're just begging to die, don't you?" Another, with the same headband snickered, making his way closer to them.

The mother let out a small noise as she buried her head further against her crying child's. The father in response wrapped his arms around them tighter, his eyes holding a silent fury as he looked up at them.

"What? You have something to say?" They noticed the abhorrent look they were receiving from him.

"You wanna play hero?" They snatched him up, kunai's at hand, preparing to strike. The woman and child started screaming. Just as the one holding the man was about to strike, a kunai from out of nowhere embedded itself in the Sound shinobi's neck. The man he was holding fell to the ground, his wife and child huddled up against him.

Before the other had any time to react, a figure appeared in front of him, leaving no warning before he slammed his fist into the shinobi's abdomen. This sent him flying away into the nearby fires of a building.

His eyes closed for a moment, his cloak falling still. He then opened his eyes, revealing his piercing Sharingan. On his right cheek was a long scar, looking very recent as the blood barely clotted.

"U-Uchiha…" They were all shocked, looking helpless on the ground as the stared with wide eyes.

They watched as his Sharingan eyes stared in a general direction, as if he was looking for something. Though he was calm, stoic. His eyes seemed to squint slightly as if he saw something he needed to see. With that, he seemingly disappeared.

--

Her calm, stoic face stayed in place, her emerald eyes stern as they focused on Kabuto. Her face was smeared in dirt, most of her clothing looking that way as well. There were a few specs of burnt skin as well, one under her eye. It clearly looked like she had been fighting for a long time, and must have been exhausted, but none of this showed. She was calm, and poised.

"Where's Orochimaru?" Kabuto didn't answer, he just simply smiled, bring up a hand to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose once again.

"I know you wouldn't come here without him, and he wouldn't come here without you."

"Smart."

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, because of you, Sakura-san." Her head slightly turned to the side as her emerald orbs studied him questioningly.

"All of this," He brought his hands up into the air, slightly looking around at the destruction of Konoha. "wouldn't have been possible without you."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out, soon enough." She noticed him lower into a fighting stance. His amused eyes focused on her. Sakura did not follow his actions, she stayed standing tall, still, eyes trained on him.

"Are you ready, Sakura-san?"

--

Sasuke's eyes slightly narrowed.

"Though, I believe you should earn this story, Sasuke-kun. Also, I'm waiting for Kabuto to bring me someone, someone I want you to see before our parting..or should I say joining…" Sasuke said nothing, his countenance still impassive.

"Amuse me for a while, will you?" With that, Orochimaru bit his thumb, immediately running it along the seals upon his arm. The blood made an even line across.

"Kuchiyose No Justu."

(Song: The Rising Fighting Spirit)

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes were still trained on Orochimaru as the many snakes appeared, surrounding him. He looked at Orochimaru for a while longer, before changing his gaze to look out of the corner of his eye, at the snakes surrounding him.

--

Kunai poised and arm held up in front of her face, Sakura took off, running towards Kabuto. She then threw the kunai with excellent speed. He seemingly disappeared, reappearing not a few feet away. But he barely looked up to see Sakura falling down on him, her charka filled fist poised to stroke.

He seemingly disappeared again, leaving Sakura's fist to meet the ground, breaking the earth up beneath it. A few bits of rebel and dirt fell to ground. Emerald eyes trained on Kabuto, not moving from her crouched position, she seemingly disappeared, too fast for Kabuto to react as her fist connected with his face. As he flew backwards, she was already upon him, giving him more momentum as she continued to pummel him with her monstrous strength. There was no way he would get up from this.

Letting out a small, yet calm grunt, she spun around; delivering a powerful kick that sent him flying into the ground. The impact created a small crater underneath him. Sakura landed on the ground not to far away, cracking her fists and she slowly walked towards him. Her breathing was slightly labored, due from the tiredness she suffered from her earlier fighting.

She stopped, her eyes not showing her surprise as Kabuto moved, slowly pushing himself up into a crouching position before pushing himself into a standing. After a few moments, he straightened up all the way, looking at her as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Kabuto almost looked surprised at her strength and speed, but soon a grin traveled to his face. He slowly raised his hand up; it was covered in the same blue charka.

"My turn."

--

(continuation of Rising fighting spirit)

The five snakes summoned immediately dove towards his position on the rooftop. Sasuke just stood his ground, switching his gaze to stare at Orochimaru calmly. As their heads collided with the rooftop, they destroyed the building underneath, and seemingly Sasuke, who did not disappear.

A huge, nasty grin made its way onto Orochimaru's face. It would seem as if he thought Sasuke had been destroyed, but his eyes were not trained on the destruction of the building. They were moving, seemingly following something's movements.

Sasuke was running along the back of one of the snakes, the same shuriken from before pulled out. He then stuck into the snake's back, running it along all the way up. As he was doing this, others immediately charged at him. Leaving the shuriken in the same one, which was thrashing about wildly, he pulled out two more kunai before jumping onto the head of another.

Simultaneously he dug the two kunai's into each of the snake's eyes. Hands still on the kunai, he jumped forward, using amazing strength to bring the snake down with him towards the ground. As his feet touched the ground, so did the mouth of snakes head. Leaving no spare moment, he didn't make a sound as he stepped forward, gaining momentum before he threw the snake forward into two others. With his hands still on the kunai's they slipped out of the eyes as it fell towards the other two. Their collision and fall to the ground created a small tremor.

Orochimaru's grin got even bigger, his eyes filled with a seemingly type of lust as his snake-like eyes followed Sasuke's movements. It almost seemed he was drooling as he slightly opened his mouth.

_The perfect container for my dreams_

Sasuke reappeared on a rooftop, his eyes focusing on Orochimaru.

--

"Sakura-san, are you sure you want to be wasting your charka like that?" Sakura had just finished healing her leg, which had its vistas lateritious severed. She had almost forgotten how good he was in the medical field; even she didn't know how to do that. She rose up to a standing position once again.

"All I need is one punch, Kabuto." It was true, with her monstrous strength; she could completely knock him out. Though..

"Can you land one punch, Sakura-san?"

It was then that Sakura charged, both fists poised and ready to strike. She aimed combo of attacks at him, and he dodged all of them, though not without trouble. He seemingly disappeared, leaving Sakura to dig her fist into the earth once again. She then disappeared with him.

They kept appearing and reappearing in various places, Sakura doing all the attacking, and Kabuto barely managing to dodge. In their last meeting, a punch Sakura delivered came to fast, and all he could do was use his arms to block. This sent him flying a few yards away, into a building.

Sakura landed on the ground, taking long deep breaths to steady her breathing. It was all she could do to make sure he didn't have the opportunity to attack her. She was at a disadvantage, he could easily disable any function her part of her body if he touched her with that charka. If she didn't have the ability to heal, she would have already been done, though if this kept up, her own charka would be done as well.

She waited for Kabuto to come out of the building, and he did. But he disappeared reappearing even further away. Sakura was immediately on him, attacking again. And as they kept disappearing, they kept traveling in a general direction, almost as if he was leading her somewhere on purpose. Her brows were almost furrowed in question as she continued to deliver attacks.

--

As another snake dived at him, dust and rocks exploded when it collided with the ground. Sasuke jumped up, running along it as it rose tall once again. Other snakes charged for him, and he simply switched to the back of another. He then brought his leg up in an upwards kick, meeting the underside of a snakes face. As if fell backwards, he used the leverage to jump up onto a roof. Dodging more attacks, he found the one, now lying on the ground dead, with the shuriken in its back. He made his way over to it while dodging repetitive strikes, pulled it out, immediately seemingly disappearing. He appeared on a nearby roof, this time holding two shuriken. He slightly flicked his wrists, letting them open to their full, four-bladed length. Crossing his arm to gain momentum, he snapped them forward in full throw.

The speed at which they were thrown allowed the shuriken to cut through four of the beasts in half. They made their way back to him, making a clanking sound as they returned to his hands.

--

"Hagh!" Her fist slammed into the ground , tearing it apart as she missed another hit. She immediately disappeared, meeting Kabuto's fist with her own. Their foots met in mid kick, and finally another punch. They both seemingly disappeared at the same time, Sakura aiming a charka filled punch. When it looked like she would hit, Kabuto moved his body to the side, touching her arm with a charka filled fist before disappearing.

Sakura held in a grunt of pain as she landed on the rooftop; her arm hanging limply from her side. He had unattached the muscle from her bone.

He didn't give her time to heal as he came at her again, aiming his charka filled hands for her once again. She barely managed to dodge the first few, and as she flipped backwards in retreat, he got her leg. As she landed on a rooftop again, her teeth grinded together as she tried to stand on her leg. He again, gave her no time as he was already on her. His fist met her face, sending her flying a very long ways back. She hit the side of an embedded rock before falling to the ground.

Holding in a gasp of pain, she lifted her upper body with the single arm she was able to use.

"Cracked ribs, and a cracked thigh bone." Kabuto started as he landed on the ground a few yards away from her. "Though minor injuries to the bone shouldn't keep you from fighting." He slowly made his way towards, his hand surrounded in that same blue charka once again. "Now this time, why don't we go for a more, vital part of your body?"

With that, Kabuto ran towards her, and as his hand made it's way towards her chest, her own hand moved, catching his wrist with excellent speed. Letting out a small cry, she twisted his arm back; a huge cracking noise could be heard. Kabuto let out a scream of pain as he staggered back, holding onto his broken arm.

_Now move, Sakura!_

Letting out a pained cry, Sakura used both her arms to push herself off the ground, and used both legs to run towards Kabuto. Her face was still scrunched up in pain. She slammed her fist into his abdomen, before continuing to deliver a combo of attacks. She let out a grunt of pain, he time she did so. She delivered one more punch, sending him flying a long ways back, even further into the abandoned part of Konoha. With that, Sakura fell to the ground, her arm and leg becoming completely still.

_I can't..move them at all now._

Taking a deep breath, Sakura placed a hand over her limp arm, a lavender type glow emanating from her hand. When she could move her arm okay, she used both of them on her leg. After a few moments she could move her leg. She didn't have much time to heal them, and that's why they still hurt somewhat to move.

Her emerald eyes then traveled to where Kabuto had collided. She knew he was no longer there. As her eyes scanned the area, she slowly stood up, then making her way to the top of the roof. As she looked around more, her eyes grew slightly wide as she looked off in the near distance.

It was in a now abandoned part of the village. There was a vast number of those huge snakes in one area. And they seemed to be attacking someone. It was still a distance away, so she couldn't see whoever was fighting, the figure merely looked bigger than a dot. She had to help whoever it was. Momentarily forgetting Kabuto, she set off, making her way towards the abandoned part of Konoha.

--

He reached into his weapons pouch, taking out the last of his kunais. Three held in each hand, he jumped up, throwing them in the direction of the snakes. Three of the snakes hissed in both pain and fury as a kunai embedded itself in each of their eyes. As they thrashed about, they somehow entangled themselves with the other snakes. A huge tremor shook the earth as they tumbled to the ground, tremor continued to shake the earth as they thrashed about trying to free themselves.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu." His chest heaved up.

--

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he made an abrupt stop. Startled, Chouji had stopped too, backtracking to where his friend was.

"Shikamaru?"

**Flashback**

From his position on the bench, which was located on a spiral type tower nearby, he could see the flower shop in between the many buildings.

His five minutes was up.

**End Flashback**

Shikamaru turned, his eyes scanning the area till he saw a tall, circular tower, at the top, it's railings surrounded a circular attachment of benches. Then, remembering where he what direction he was the village below when up there, his eyes scanned the area to the left of the tower, noticing the familiar architect of the buildings. Though, they were now surrounded by fires, in a long since abandoned part of the village. There was also a very large numbers of snakes, attacking something.

"Kuso!" With that, he made his way towards the fires, which were still a long ways a way.

--

She was closer now, and she could see the silhouette of another figure, seemingly watching the battle between the other and the snakes enfold. It was then her brain made the connection between the snakes and the unmoving figure.

_Could it be?_

Her musing were interrupted as a force came from behind her. She barely turned around before she found herself knocked back by a powerful blow, flying a long ways away, even more so towards the abandoned part of Konoha. Mid-descent, she lifted her head up to see Kabuto appear right in front of her.

His arm was completely healed.

He aimed another attack, but she blocked. Still the momentum of the attack sent her flying even more so, this time at a diagonal angle towards the ground. Right before she hit, she executed a back flip, landing on all fours. She looked back up to Kabuto with surprise. How was he able to heal a wound of that caliber with such speed?

"My medical skills were not the only reason Orochimaru was interested in me." As his feet made contact with the ground, the sound was hardly audible. He continued his way towards her in the fashion of regular walking, a small grin apparent on his face. "It was my ability to speed up the regeneration of my cells. The part of his skin where the bone had once protruded began to heal up instantly, without use of his healing powers.

This was bad. She was almost out of charka, and already tired from her earlier fighting. And he just kept coming back, no matter how many of her punches landed. But she understood it all now, it was because of his healing powers. Unless she took him out in one blow, he would not stay down.

_This is bad.._

It was then that she sensed another source of charka, one other than Kabuto. She was too far away from the other two she saw earlier to be sensing them. There must have been someone else. Her emerald eyes looked to the building behind her. There were small flames surrounding it, but a small hole in the side of the wall allowed entrance. The source of charka, though faint, was coming from in there. Someone must have been hurt. As she continued to look at the building, a sense of familiarity invaded her senses. It was then that her eyes caught sight of a part of the sign which was almost all burnt away.

'Flow……op.'

The flower shop!

Her eyes snapped back to Kabuto as she sensed him pick up his speed. His leg came at her in a straight kick. She quickly rolled to the side, grabbing her ribs in pain as she did so. He kept coming, executing attack after attack, and she barely managed to dodge and block each one. A small gasp of pain came from her throat every once in a while.

"How long can you keep up with this, Sakura-san?"

Perspiration was evident on her forehead, both from the strain, and the pain she was experiencing.

--

Most of the buildings below were aflame. A small stream of smoke rose steadily from the nearly crisp, nearly gone bodies of the snakes.

Sasuke removed his hand from his mouth, transitioning his eyes back to Orochimaru. He didn't look one bit tired at all, his breathing was completely normal.

"Enough." He said impassively.

"Soon." Orochimaru replied. It was then that his snake-like eyes traveled to his right, looking at something with amusement. Sasuke's Sharingan eyes followed, squinting slightly as he saw two figures fighting in the distance. He recognized the silhouette of Kabuto instantly, his eyes then turning to look at his opponent. His eyes slightly widened when he saw a distance flash of pink.

"Was that slight, emotion I saw flicker through your eyes, Sasuke-kun?" The Uchiha said nothing as he bolted from his position, his goal to get to Sakura and Kabuto. But as soon as he started, a barricade of snakes appeared in his way, as far as he could see. There were at least thirty; and their appearance destroyed many of the buildings they landed on, also producing a very large tremor.

"Show me, Sasuke-kun..your desire to reach your precious little flower."

A silent fury evident, Sasuke glared at the barricade of the enormous snakes in his way. He reinforced his Sharingan, proving even more so the change of seriousness.

"This..is getting very old." He muttered dangerously, darkly.

--

They all paused at the tremor that shook the ground. Kakashi, Jiraiya, Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai had just finished off what they had believed to the be the last of snake beasts. But their eyes slightly widened as they caught sight of what looked to be more, far off in the distance. There was a straight line, strewn as far as they could see. They observed as it seemed they were getting killed quickly, but more replaced them just as fast.

"There's something going on over there.." Jiraiya mused.

They were in the middle of fighting, though it took much ease. There were still plenty of enemies, so they couldn't just leave and go. It was then that Asuma spoke. He shoved his kunai into a charging Sound.

"Jiraiya, Kak-."

"Kakashi!" Once again all their heads snapped to the callers, a group of shinobi running their way. They had to literally fight their way to them.

"Sakura-san!" Kakashi head lifted up even more so as he waited from them to continue. But more Sound came at them. Kakashi and the others, at hearing Sakura's name, made their way to them instead.

"She's alive!" He panted a little to catch his breath. "She's here! She's here!! But she's in trouble!"

--

The numerous amount of handseals he preformed were done so with insurmountable speed, hardly noticeable. He jumped onto the highest rook in front of the long barricade of snakes, his eyes burning with intensity. His chest heaved up, and he placed a hand in front of his mouth in the form of and oval shape.

"Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu." The words seemed to echo over and over again.

Instead of a huge flame erupting from his throat, firey liquid spewed from him mouth, long string like after another.

All at once, the liquid erupted, huge flaming dragons appearing. They were numerous in their amount, larger than the beasts before them. Seemingly letting out a roar, a brilliant flash of sparks and flames shot everywhere as the fiery dragons weaved in and out of the barricade of snakes. While they were doing this, Sasuke shot his hand out towards the ground, immediately staticky charka began to form in his hands, it source stemming from the slight currents of lightning coming up from the ground.

When the staticky charka reached it's peak, he bolted from his position, running towards the snakes that had yet to be consumed by the flaring dragons, which were steadily coming down the line. But Sasuke seemed to already know they would not reach this far. He was in line with the flaring dragons, running along side them as they made their way down the line, but he was faster, picking up his speed to surpass them. He weaved in and out as the snakes shot towards him. But nothing could stop him and he shot his fist forward, and as he did so, he brought up his other hand in a sort of handseal.

Instead of protruding though one of the snakes, a huge lightning explosion accompanied.

Orochimaru put his arm over his eyes as he continued to watch, the blinding light of the explosion irritating his eyes. Though the grin seemed to grow bigger.

After the explosion had subsided, Sasuke stood there, his arm still outstretched. There wasn't a sign of any of the snakes. They had been wiped out by both of those techniques he used. Showing no sign that he was tired in any way, Sasuke appeared on a roof not to far away from Orochimaru, his eyes scanning the area for something. Anger grew as he could no longer see the fighting.

He was ready to bolt from his position, but Orochimaru saw this. He almost seemed to reinforce his eyes as his gaze shot to Sasuke. Immediately Sasuke let out a very pained scream as he grabbed his neck. Orochimaru seemed to reinforce his snake like eyes again, and Sasuke screamed louder as he dropped to his hands and knees. His whole body was shaking as he tried to steady himself. But every few seconds he would try to hold in a scream of pain, letting it come out as a strained grunt.

"You're not going anywhere, Sasuke-kun. It's time for me to finally tell you a story."

* * *

**Cinnamon pasteles de gracias para leyendo!**

**Yea...this time...the story is actually gonna be told! Sorry for it not being this chappy! Ums...yea as you can see i've been fanaticing ...is that a word? FANATIC..ING over those cinnamon struesel muffins..wow i have to recommend them to you guys...go to Walmart..ya know where the cakes and stuff are...and look for a box..kinda fancy looking. Produce of Betty Crocker and Cinnabon. Of course it has the picture and the cinnamon struself muffin title. They are AMAYZINg peoples, M frakin mazing.**

**Right sooouh...i think that's all i have to say! Until next time!**


	36. Chap 35: Future Revelations

**A/N: **Hoola, i know it's been a while since and update, and i'm really sorry! I've just gotten started on two major projects that are due for the end of the year sooo...but i think i'm where i want to be in those..so i'll really take it up a notch on my effort to update...wow don't those get old? Sorry!

**Warnings: **Okay guys! I'm sorry, but if you guys read this warning hopefull there shouldn't be any confusion. The layout of this chapter is similar to Chap 16: Kisame Falls, Roar Itachi, Roar(under existing chapter 17). Where I put a future excerpt at the beginning of the chapter, and the rest was like a flashback.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series, they would make Naruto's hair a little bit longer, now that he's older and all that stuff. Sorta like Yondaime's, but not neccesarily that long. I really DISLIKE seeing in the anime those lazy animaists, is that a word? Anywho, the drawer people, seeing the sloppy looking spikes Naruto has that looks like a little kid drawing spikes and the back of a dragon. Cm'on! I can understand for the Kage Buunshin No Jutsu, but for Naruto by himself, no other Naruto's runnin around? Stoop being lazy!...Even though i know you guys do work hard to present us with wonderful animation for the Naruto series.

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 35: Future Revelations**

**--**

**--**

**--**

"Sakura!" He hollered. A few of the embers from all the fires burning singed his skin. He seemed to be in pain as well, every once and a while bringing up his hand to grasp the area right on the side of his neck. But he didn't care.

"Ino!" he had hollered at the same time. He had paused in shock for a moment at the other name called, but his concerns kept him from questioning. His teeth were grinding together, pushing the intensity of the heat to the back of his mind.

They were both proceeding through the building side by side.

It was then, when they rounded a small corner, that they saw the two figurers for which they had been searching for. One was carrying the other, who had seemed unconscious.

Both the young men made a run for them, swiftly passing through the burning parts of the huge area. Sasuke's speed allowed him to surpass Shikamaru, who was right behind him the whole way. When it seemed like they had finally made it to them, they were forced to stop, both bringing up their arms and leaning back in defense as a burning part of the building fell down right in front of them, completely blocking the way. A small burst sent them falling back to the ground.

**Flashback**

His Sharingan eyes widened as he looked at the two figures that had just arrived. From his position on all fours, one hand grasping his neck tightly, all Sasuke could do was stare.

Next to Orochimaru, on a nearby rooftop, stood Kabuto. But he was not alone. He was holding a kunai to someone's throat. Pink hair fell over the arm that was securing her slightly above the chest, and her emerald eyes had grown slightly wide as she looked down at Sasuke. She didn't look in a good condition at all. She was beat up and looked exhausted, most likely suffering from a great loss of chakra.

"I recall I told you, you would get a first-hand example of what I do to traitors, did I not? Though, I had changed my mind, seeing as how you and Sakura have made things much easier for me-"

"She has nothing to do with this." Sasuke forced out through his grinded teeth. His stern Sharingan eyes were trained on Orochimaru, the grasp on his neck tightening with each moment.

"Oh, I believe she does, Sasuke-kun. I dare say she is the biggest part, seeing as how she brought you to me." The grin on his face grew even wider.

Sasuke's eyes darted to Sakura.

"Oh no, Sasuke-kun. Not of her own intention." He let out a small chuckle. "So quick to suspect Sasuke-kun, now that's not very nice."

His eyes traveled back to Orochimaru as he chuckled.

(Song: Sasuke,Destiny)

"Now let me tell you this story, Sasuke-kun. If there is any wrong in it, surely both of you can correct me, can you not?" He took a long glance to Sakura, before focusing his snake-like eyes back to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, you were once strong in your resolve and will to obtain ultimate power, for the many reasons you had sought to use it. You gave up your former life, and ended all attachments to former companions. You were relentless, emotionless, doing any, and everything I asked of you. But one unfortunate night, you were reunited with an old acquaintance, one that changed you completely."

He paused glancing at Sakura for a moment. He was purposely speaking at a volume that could easily be heard.

"If your will had been as strong as it had seemed, you would have killed her, would you not? Or was it that you had not so easily severed those meaningless ties with Sakura-san as you thought? You spared her, took care of her in her time of need, if only for a momentary time. While she healed, you had left. Irritated and confused at why you had done such a thing."

His eyes burned with a silent fury as he glared at Orochimaru, this hand that supported his upper body on the ground clenching even tighter.

"You had left, expecting to no longer see her again, to be rid of her for good, yet hoping for a clear conscious at the fact that you gave her refuge and necessary elements for her recovery. But that didn't happen, did it? To your surprise, and to your _discontent_," He emphasized the word, clearly knowing it did not adequately describe his disposition. "You found that she had made connection with your dear, beloved, brother."

Sakura slightly turned her head, letting out a small, indiscernible but grieving huff as Orochimaru said this. She could feel the ping in her heart as he spoke, spoke of what was going on inside Sasuke while everything happened. She wanted to know how he knew this; she wanted to know why he was doing this.

"Skipping all the unnecessary antics, you and your brother destroyed what was left of the Akatsuki, only to fight each other later. Yet there was more behind this was there not? The annihilation of the Akatsuki only prospered because of yours and your brother's will to protect poor defenseless Sakura. The same woman who had warmed both of your hearts, gave you the will to become better."

_What?_

She didn't understand. That must have been where he mixed things up. But when her emerald eyes traveled to look at Sasuke, the anger was evident on his face, his unwillingness to look at her, and his inaction to state otherwise what Orochimaru just said.

"Though, it was impossible to forget the emotion that ran between you two sworn enemies, so you fought, wishing to end all ties, put an end to needless suffering.. Though for both brothers, it was for more than just the past, was it not?" He slightly paused in his sentence, noticing something.

"Oh, why are you avoiding Sakura's gaze, Sasuke-kun?" He let out a chuckle as Sasuke's eyes slightly narrowed in speculation.

"It wasn't just your goal that drove you was it? The need to avenge your clan, right all the wrong that you went through. You were angry at your brother for another reason now weren't you?Jealousy drove you to do what you did... Yes, what feelings must you have for someone in order to obtain the emotion of jealousy? For you, Sasuke-kun, the feelings must be great."

"Shut up." Sasuke snapped dangerously. He made a move to get up, but made a barely discernable hiss as the pain in his neck kept him down.

Orochimaru chuckled, his snake-like eyes gleaming with amusement and anticipation.

"Your precious little flower gave you another reason to live, did she not?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at Sasuke; she watched as his head slowly lowered down, in a more so foreboding way.

"She _understood _you, _forgave _you. She accepted you for the monster you've become."

"You didn't beleive redemption lied for a fool on such a path as you were. But she showed you otherwise, didn't she? This honorable, and _beautiful_ kunoichi was willing to give up everything for you, she waited for you, waited for a love she thought never to be returned. And because of this, you finally realized how much you adored her, _loved her." _

It was then that the first tear fell from her face, and onto Kabuto's hand. Her eyes continued to stare wide at Sasuke as this information sunk into her ears.

"Oh, look, Orochimaru-sama, you made Sakura-san cry." Kabuto faked empathy. Orochimaru's grin grew wider as his snake-like eyes observed Sakura.

"What is it, Sakura-san? You didn't know this? Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I just the ruined secret didn't I?"

Countless tears fell from her face one by one, her emerald eyes were trained on Sasuke, who's face was still obscured from view. He was completley still now.

"This truly is the romantic story, is it not? Yet, Sasuke-kun, you left her alone despite this newfound information of yours. You still weren't willing to accept that fact that you loved Sakura all along. That all these years you two were apart, all you thought about was her."

Sakura couldn't hold in the sob, and Sasuke seemed to tense up even more for a moment as Sakura's sob sounded his ears. Though he didn't look up at her, or at Orochimaru, his fists just clenched even tighter.

"I have to admit; I grew very displeased at the fact that you had defied me, and were no longer willing to give your body up to me. But then I realized this would work in my favor. And it did indeed. Thanks to our little flower, I got my hands on a little something the Akatsuki had stored away. And I'll have the destruction of Konoha along with your body, all in a moment's time. Oh, this really has worked out in my favor, wouldn't you agree?"

"..Bastard.." The single word reverberated from deep inside him, rumbling out of his throat dangerously. Full of so much hate, yet muttered in slightly lower pitch than would be a yell.

The seal upon his neck proceeded to pulse slowly, forebodingly.

Orochimaru let out another chuckle, yet it was much more twisted, maniacal.

"Yess..that's it, Sasuke-kun. Make me pay."

Sasuke slowly began to stand up, removing the hand from his shoulder to hang, clenched at his side. It was then that Orochimaru's eyes completely focused on Sasuke as he eyed him warily. The moment lasted all to long as and look of amusement found his face again.

"Come to me, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke was silent as his Sharingan eyes glared calmly at Orochimaru, but his body was shaking, most likely from the complete abhorrence building up inside him.

"Sasuke, don't go near him!" A response to her sudden outburst, Kabuto kneed her in the back.

Sasuke halted from his preparation to move, his cold eyes snapping to Kabuto.

"Hm..now I am familiar with the feeling of annoyance that only Sakura can cause, much like you were, yes Sasuke?…Kabuto." His snake-like eyes traveled to Kabuto as he slightly nodded.

Sasuke's eyes snapped to Sakura as she let out a cry of pain. Kabuto was holding her up by the neckline of her clothing now, and she was hanging limply.

"Shall I do us both a favor and get rid of her?" Orochimaru mocked. Kabuto then briefly released Sakura, only to kick her downwards into a burning building.

"Sa-aaagh." He let out a scream of pain, falling to his knees once again. Orochimaru disappeared, reappearing directly in front of Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes snapped up to Orochimaru.

"Now that's she's out of the way-." Orochimaru abruptly stopped, jumping back onto another rooftop to avoid the kunai that came flying towards him. He looked surprise at the figure that appeared next to Sasuke. Hand still grasping his neck, Sasuke's eyes traveled up to look at the figure adorned in a black cloak, red lined clouds adorning its span.

Discontent was clearly evident on Orochimaru's face as he looked at Uchiha Itachi. There was also a poorly hidden fear mixed in. His face was slightly scrunched up. He obviously had believed Itachi had been killed as well.

Itachi's cold Sharingan eyes were trained on Orochimaru. He looked calm as always, yet there was a deep seriousness to his face.

"Go, Sasuke." He motioned towards the building which he had clearly seen Sakura fall into. Sasuke's serious eyes glanced to the burning building before he stood up, looking at Itachi once again.

"Don't die." He quickly muttered to his brother before making his way towards the burning building.

Kabuto made a move for Sasuke, but Itachi reappeared in front of Kabuto with amazing speed, his fist meeting Kabuto's face. Kabuto managed to ride the punch, executing a back flip before landing on the same rooftop as Orochimaru, who continued to stare at Itachi gravely.

"You're going to take on the two of us?" Orochimaru inquired as if it wasn't clearly evident. Though there wasn't even the slightest hint of amusement, or even questioning for that matter. His voice was grave and slightly perplexed. Perspiration had already begun to adorn his forehead.

--------

She slowly opened her eyes, only to squeeze them shut once again as a wave of pain rushed over her. She slowly started to push her upper body up from the position on her stomach, holding in a noise of pain as she did so. Her panicked eyes scanned her surroundings, her eyes finding a reason for the immense heat that she was experiencing. It was then that she spotted a figure not to far away from her, partly buried in rubble, and trapped under some more. The dirtied blond hair was what caught her eyes first, leading them to look at the faces' profile.

"Ino!" Holding in a small grunt of pain, Sakura lifted herself up before making her way over to Ino, whose chest and up was the only part of her exposed.

"Ino!" She called to her again, slightly tapping her dirt covered face. She let out a breath of relief as Ino stirred, letting out a small moan. Sakura then immediately moved around the huge rubble on top of her. She looked around quickly, almost panicky at the situation.

"Ok." She muttered to herself as she grabbed the huge metal bar protruding from the rest of the rubble. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a huge breath as she tried to steady herself.

-------

Two sets of eyes caught sight of an opening in the burning building. One pair was looking on from a leftward direction, the other from a rightward. The sound of their sandals moving along the ground towards it seemed to almost echo.

Right when it seemed the holders of the eyes had made contact with the opening in the side of the building, their movements came to a halt.

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru with a sense of familiarity as Shikamaru looked at him with slight surprise. Sasuke eyed him in speculation, impatiently waiting for the reaction that might have come. But Shikamaru said nothing, eying him for only a moment before his gaze turned towards the entrance which they both and sought. Their eyes met again, though this moment lasted not even a second before their eyes refocused on the opening in the wall, which was more important to them at the moment. Without another glance, they both went for it.

They didn't know the others' reason for going in, but they didn't care.

-------

Sakura let out a cry as she gave the metal one last push towards the ground. The other end of it came flying up, propelling the rubble on top of it completely off to the side. Sakura then dropped to the ground letting out a small noise from the soreness and relief. She then hurried back up, using her hands to move away the rest of the thin pieces of material. She then proceeded to pull Ino's arm over her shoulders, then moved to transitioning the rest of her body on top of hers.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as she repositioned Ino, scooting her up even higher on her back. Her arms were under each of Ino's legs as she carried her piggy-back style; a task that would have been simple had Sakura not been exhausted and dangerously low on chakra supply.The flames danced in her eyes as she looked around, trying to find any place she could retreat. It was then that she noticed a huge opening that lead into a more spacey part of the building. She would make her way towards it. Though his steps were slow, labored.

"Big..forehead.."

Sakura did not halt in her movement, her emerald eyes were trained ahead of her, the persperation from both the heat and strain created clean lines through the dirt that smeared her face.

"I'm… gonna get you… out of here…" She paused holding in a small noise of pain. ".. I promise you."

**End Flashback**

Orochimaru seemed tense and hesitant to do anything. It was clearly evident that Itachi's presence did much more than unnerve him. The rate at which he was decaying seemed to increase, along with his anxiety. For a moment his snake-like eyes moved to the area where Sasuke had retreated scanning with great nervousness before they switched back to Itachi.

"So you and your brother have made amends, have you?" It seemed he was trying to delay any type of battle by conversation.

"You have something that belongs to me." Was all Itachi said.

_I didn't expect I'd have to use any of them so soon._

Orochimaru slowly brought his hand up along his body, resting them on the scrolls attached to his rope belt. Though he tried to do this discreetly, Itachi's Sharingan eyes easily caught his movements, seemingly knowing what he was thinking.

"You do not know how to control them." Itachi calmly said, his emotionless eyes traveling back upwards.

"Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto warned with worried, grave eyes. Orochimaru eyed him meaningfully for a moment; the two seemed to have an unspoken realization. Orochimaru's frustration seemed to rise as his eyes uneasily looked back to Itachi. Another piece of skin peeled from his face.

_My time is running out…_

--------

"Chouji!" Tenten hollared to the shinobi seen a small distance away. Neji stayed silent, eys squinted slighty as he noticed something off about him. Chouji stopped in his on a rooftop,his curious eyes traveling to meet theirs. But he seemed very frustrated. To reduce the time it took for them to get to him, he made his way towards them also. They stopped on the same rooftop.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Neji inquired, he had remembered seeing the two together some time earlier during his fighting. He studied as the expression on Chouji's face changed.

"I don't know, he just booked it, right after he got this weird look on his face. Though," He paused, pointing his finger in the direction in which he had been traveling." He went in that direction, towards that abandoned part of the village, so that's where I'm headed." They all looked on in the direction, which he motioned towards. Their eyes almost seemed weary, feeling a sense of foreboding as they looked at the raveged, burning wasteland of the long forgotten part of Konoha.

--------

"Naruto-kun!" He glanced to the side at the call, as he dug his fist into the abdomen of the last Sound shinobi in the area. They then widened as he saw who the caller was, his cerulean eyes meeting her pearl. It seemed to go in slow motion as he turned his body to her, just in time to meet her embrace.

"Why did you stay locked up for so long.." Her fists were clenched in his shirt.

Naruto's eyes softened as he pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, letting his now stern eyes wander the area. It was then that the travel of his gaze stopped, slightly squinting as he looked at something from afar.

"..Hinata-Chan…can you use your Byakuugan?" He kept his gaze in place in the distance as he said this, the seriousness and stillness to his voice was clearly evident.

--------

"Where?" Kakashi inquired calmly, but the suprise and the anxiety at the newfound information was clearly evident. The others looked on at the messenger, all eyes transitioning to the direction in which his fingers pointed.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Sorry if this chapter is a little shorter than usual, also a little less COOL and LIKEABLE. I'm sorry I'll be honest and admit i was a wee bit lazy on this one. But ums..yea reviews would be greatly appreciated, and motivate me to work harder to get these chapters out even though school is boggin me down? **


	37. Chap 36: Ascending Situations

**A/N: **Ah man guys..this is pretty darn crazy..i was just thinking about it, and I made myself crack up just a wee bit. I was working on this chapter, and to make sure I was putting in the stuff I needed, ya know continuing where I left off, I was looking at my last chapter, but before I got to it I had to of course choose it from the long list of chapters I had. And I seriously said whoa. Just like that..WHOA. That's a hella of a lot of chapters, yeah? I remember back in the day, when I first started this story, I kinda had it planned how I was gonna end it, it was LAME by the way, but nonetheless, not gonna be more then 14 chapters…and wadya know..its about triple that AND or BUT, thanks to you guys, no really, it's a lot better than I had imagined, and a hella of a lot longer… sooo yea that's my totally amazing random story. XD. Hehe.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series, they would actually show Kakashi's little cool story about how he got his eye and stuff BEFORE the whole thing with Sasori and Deidara and Gaara Biju thing…ya know..like the manga did…buuuut that's just me. Or I may have read the manga wrong cause I was a little confused about where to start, where it left off, all that good stuff. Wow I'm a dummy..buut there it is.

**Warnings: **Chuck Norris will set your house ablaze. No really. Actually I have no clue who the hell that guy/girl/thing is. I remember when people always used to say that, Chuck Norris this, Chuck Norris that..I just kinda gave that dumb look. But yea. I know, I tell AMAY-zing stories, yea yea I try. …maybe I should google it. Dan a na na na na BATMAN!!

Oh and by the way, if any of you readers actually play the songs i suggest for my story, or if you want to, just go to youtube (dot) com (damn i hate how you can't type links in on here) and type in NARUTO OST, then you can find the songs just like that. That's what i do to find ones that would fit in. Fo sho. So all the songs i use for this fanfic are on youtube, for all you who don't feel like breaking the law and downloading for free. Which by the way, Limewire and Ares does excellently. :)

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 36: Acsending Situations!**

--

--

--

(Naruto song: Evil)

**Flashback**

His confident steps slowed to a halt as he came upon the edge of the cliff. He looked on below in diagonal proportion, his snake-like eyes gleaming with confidence, satisfaction. A grin made its way to his face as he positioned a hand on his waist, letting it rest on the rope-like band securing his clothing. Next to him stepped another figure, his silver hair swaying in the wind. He put his hands in his pocket as he blandly stared down below as well. He seemed curious, yet unsure. He brought up a hand to briefly reposition his glass lenses further up the bridge of his nose.

The sound of water moving along a wide river sounded the area, along with its source, a great waterfall in the distance. A small pebble of a rock slipped off the cliff, beginning it's decent towards the water many yards below. Without a word, Orochimaru dropped down gracefully, Kabuto following suit. Their meeting with the running water was gentle, little small rapids sprouting from where they had landed. The small pebble that had fallen met the water as well, though unlike the two shinobi, it was engulfed by the current.

They both looked on at the huge boulder like formation attached the cliff wall. The water beating at it did nothing to erode or change its state. A seal was carved on the rock, seemingly the source of its stillness. Eyes never leaving the formation, Orochimaru brought up one of his hands in a seal. Almost simultaneously the seal on the rock formation lit up in glow, creating more currents of gushing water as the rock rumbled, slowly starting its ascent. A light stripped opening in the cliff wall entreated them.

Kabuto's unsteady eyes traveled to Orochimaru as the sannin made his way towards it. He then followed pursuit, entering the cave behind him. Orochimaru's eyes remained trained in front of him, his amused eyes looking upwards some distance into the cave. The rock formation then started it's ascent to fall into its former position, enclosing them inside; this left little to no light at all in the damp cave. Kabuto's slightly awed, yet cautious eyes looked up at the huge statue that stood against the wall in the distance.

It resembled the relics of the powerful beast named Anima, centuries old, and millenniums dead. Its hands rested in front of it, their foundation coming from the ground in front of it. One finger was large enough to allow someone to stand on it, and more than twice the size of the average height person.

"Orochimaru-sama, are you sure?" Orochimaru kept his amused eyes on the statue as Kabuto sounded his inquiry.

"It takes all for the technique, only one for the looting." He responded, the grin on his face growing wider. "Now which one was it?" His snake-like eyes seemed to be scanning each of the fingers, which seemed to be glowing in anticipation, however dimly, as if the sources of their glowing were no more. Though one finger, the pinky belonging to the left hand, was not glowing at all, as if it had not been occupied for use in some time. When his eyes caught this anomaly, he jumped up, landing on it.

"It's been quite some time, hasn't it?" He seemed to be talking to himself, or the finger which he now occupied. He then brought up in his finger in a seal once again. Immediately a small glow flickered dimly, before glowing more properly like the others, among the small glow came a seal, one matching the seal insignia on the ring Orochimaru bore. (sky, empty bottle?)

They eyes on the Anima statue glowed a bright read as it's mouth started opening wider, the movement sounded like rock carving against rock, and it seemed so as small debris and pieces of rubble crumbled to the ground. Orochimaru's eyes seemed to gleam with anticipation as the mouth continued to open. As the slow movement halted, a small, yet wicked chuckle erupted from Orochimaru's throat, his eyes trained on the space inside the opened space Kabuto watched with slightly surprised yet grave, uncertain eyes as he stared into the concrete mouth. The contents of the small opening reflected in the lenses of his glasses, and as they slightly slipped down the bridge of his nose, he did nothing to push them up.

Inside the huge concrete mouth of the statue, lay another small opening, one which glowed with many colors from the contents inside; neatly, laid a small pile of scrolls, from which the insides seemed to be emanating glows, each holding its own separate color. The glows seemed to come from smile vials, rolled and coveted safely inside the sealed scrolls. Orochimaru's beaming eyes scanned them from his position on the giant finger first, seeming to count their numbers.

"Oh, what a shame, they were only to collect the seven of them." He let out a small laugh as he jumped, landing on the extended jaw line of the statue. One of his hands grasping one of the huge razor concrete fangs hanging from above, Orochimaru leaned his entire body in, carefully grasping the huge bundle of scrolls under the shelter of his arm. He then jumped down, and in a seemingly excited hurry, laid the scrolls out in front of him.

One by one, he proceeded to open up the scrolls. As he did so, Kabuto finally made his way over, kneeling next to Orochimaru, who seemed like an excited child. As each long series of scroll rolled out, the glow from the vials emanated brighter, its source actually stemming from the seals adorning their surface. They sealed vials seemed attached to the middle of the scrolls.

The seal "Shukaku(Ichibi)" emanated a bright yellow glow from its position its scroll.

The seal "Nekomata(Nibi)" emanated a bright purple glow from its position on its scroll.

The seal "Isonade(Sanbi)" emanated a bright green glow from its position on its scroll.

The seal "Sokou(Yonbi)" emanated a bright blue glow from its position on its scroll.

The seal "Houkou(Gobi)" emanated a bright crimson glow from its position on its scroll.

The seal "Raijuu(Rokubi)" emanated a bright brown glow from its position on its scroll.

The seal "Kaku(Shichibi)" emanated a bright white glow from its position on its scroll.

The glows from each vial reflected onto Orochimaru and Kabuto. Kabuto's eyes transitioned from the vials to Orochimaru with unsteady, speculating eyes, as if he was analyzing something in his head. He didn't seem as trusting and confident as Orochimaru did. A foreboding feeling rushing through him was easily noticeable.

"This will make for a fine finale!"

It was then that an ear-piercing, maniacal laugh could be heard, its vibration echoing throughout the small cave.

**End Flashback**

They had been standing there, unmoving for quite some time now, his decaying hands were still positioned on the scrolls secured with the rope-like band of his clothing. Even in the bright day, the glows emanating from them were perceivable, however minuscule. Even as his eyes looked on in slight fear and discontent, a grim smirk made its way to Orochimaru's face. Though his voice still seemed old, strained.

"I never presumed that I, myself would be controlling them. It's a surprise to find you aren't as informed of certain things about your brother as I am."

Itachi's Sharingan eyes slightly twitched before regaining their previous state, a tale-tail sign that his attention had been grasped. Orochimaru seemed slightly relieved, realizing that he could delay, maybe even distract the former Akatsuki member, however slight the chance, from battling any time soon. Conversation was his main goal at the moment.

"Sasuke is the only one, besides the deceased former First Hokage of this village, who can control the beasts, suppress them. Yes, it's true that you know how to reverse their transformation, and seal them, Itachi-kun. But you do not posses the knowledge and acquired ability to suppress the Biju's while they are broken out of the seal. Sasuke is able to, and has done so with the Kyuubi, even while it was inside its jinchuuriki, I must add he was able to do so with much ease."

(Naruto Song: Rising Fighting Spirit)

"I understand." Itachi replied, seemingly not going to speak further by the abruptness of his tone. Though he continued with his words, holding that same impassiveness, clearly showing that he was unfazed by the newfound information. "However, you will not obtain that ability, just as you will not obtain Sasuke's body. So telling me this is useless." He already seemed aware of Orochimaru's futile attempts at prolonging battle.

Orochimaru slightly cringed as Itachi said this; his lips were pursed tightly together, and his eyes slightly narrowed in frustration. He seemed ready to take any type of evasive action. His troubled sneer was easily noticeable, refining even more as he couldn't find words to say. Kabuto lowered into a fighting position, jumping onto another rooftop that was a closer distance to Orochimaru. Itachi simply glanced at him, studying him for a while before refocusing his eyes on Orochimaru.

"Releasing them will only result in destruction. You will not control them; only perish as much of this country will."

It was then that a however grim, yet slightly amused grin made its way to Orochimaru's face once again. Though the amusement seemed feigned, as if he were about to bluff.

"Itachi-kun, clearly you have seen my immortality. My body can not be destroyed-"

"Yet you cower in fear before me". Itachi interrupted, his Sharingan eyes were not fooled by any feigned look or word from Orochimaru. "That is a clear enough sign of the mortality that weakens you, bringing the fear of your own demise. That body is not yours, and I am well aware of the time limit each container possesses. If you do not obtain a body before this day's end you will be no more." Itachi's eyes traveled to look at the sky, which had already begun its dimming, the sunset creating clashes of colors in the sky. They then resettled onto Orochimaru, surprisingly with a sense of impatience, however calm.

"Your time is short, and your body greatly decaying. This surely causes you much agony. It is the same as those years ago, though I will end this, taking more than your hand."

It was then that Itachi seemingly disappeared.

---------

The sound of a great amount of electric energy, along with the sound of chirping birds sounded in sync with the huge explosion. Bursts of the fire and huge pieces of debris blocking the way exploded completely, flying to various places. Wasting no time, Sasuke ran through the opening, Shikamaru following right behind him.

Now the crackling and whistling of the burning flames was all the sounded the area. Every once and a while the cracking and crumbling of various places in the building tuned in. Both shinobi hollered their corresponding kunoichi's names as they caught sight of them. They were sprawled out on the ground, partially covered in smoke and dirt. They were motionless. The two shinobi had no time to check if the unconscious women were alright as piece after piece of material from the burning ceiling crumbled, threatening to consume them. The only way out was by making their own way out.

Sasuke was bout to briefly place Sakura back on the ground to perform his Chidori once again, but paused as the sound of the wall exploding behind him caught his ears. He looked to his side at the huge shadow hand, which quickly retreated back to Shikamaru. They shared gazed for a brief second before bolting out of the opening in the wall.

It seemed just in time as a large explosion rocked from inside the building, sending flares out through what was left of the windows, and leaving the building to topple over itself.

--------------

It was quiet for a while as the shinobi jumped from rooftop to rooftop, all eyes trained ahead of them.

"Guys, I didn't know if I should have told you right from the start, but earlier, there was a lot of fighting going on over there." Chouji finally spoke.

Neji's and Tenten's eyes glanced at Chouji.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

"There was a huge number of snakes, all huddled in that area, and there was one person fighting them. Though what irked me the most, were the techniques that person was using." Chouji paused, recalling the flaming fires the erupted, the bursts of lightning and electricity. "They reminded me of Uchiha Sasuke."

There was no audible sound at the name, only a moment of contemplation and foreboding.

"But it's been really calm for a long while, so I don't know what's going on over there, and who's over there besides Shikamaru." He quickly added.

"Neji?" Tenten seemed to signal.

"I know." Neji assured before they all came to a halt.

"Byakuugan!" Veins slightly protruded, the lines around his eyes coming prominent as his pearl eyes reinforced. His vision scoped more and more towards the abandoned part of the village. What was once a vague view of the area, closed in deeper, showing more detail to every part. He scanned the area, first resting on a burning building. Something seemed odd about it. After a moment it was then that he perceived a small burst of what seemed to be lighting. The whole building had went through a small shock, before it was no more. When nothing else happened, his eyes scanned more of the decimated area, finally resting on the figures. He then scoped in closer, inching his view to depict exact detail.

Letting out a small release of breath resembling a gasp, the Byakuugan faded from his eyes.

"It's Orochimaru and Kabuto." He started. "Itachi is fighting them."

"What?!" Both Tenten and Chouji exclaimed at the same time.

-------------

Hinata let out a small gasp as the Byakuugan faded from her eyes.

"It's Orochimaru and Kabuto." Her surprised pearl eyes traveled to Naruto's. Naruto's cerulean eyes darkened as the name sounded his ears. "Itachi's fighting them!"

Naruto didn't say anything; his head was slightly bowed down.

_Orochimaru…Itachi…_

His fists tightly clenched.

"Hinata-chan..don't follow me." He started his voice grave. Hinata's surprised eyes studied him. Right when Naruto took his first step to run, she grabbed onto his arm with both of hers, holding on to it tightly.

"I'm coming with you!" Surprised, Naruto's stopped, looking at the young kunoichi who held onto his arm for dear life.

(Naruto song: Sadness and Sorrow)(Grief and Sorrow?)

"I-I'm tired of you always being the one to do everything, y-you always get hurt, sacrifice yourself for others. E-Everything bad always h-happens to you.. "She grasped his arm even tighter, squeezing her eyes shut as tears twinkled in their corners. "This time… I want to be there with you! ..and if you have to hurt, I want to hurt with you!"

"Hinata-chan…"

"Y-You're always alone, bearing e-everything without a complaint..suffering..I-I don't want you to have to bear that burden anymore!" Her grasp on his arm grew weaker as she found herself fighting the tears that threatened to fall. Naruto gently pulled his arm out of her desperate grasp before bringing her into the confines of his arms. She tightly hugged his middle while his strong arms wrapped themselves above, his head resting on hers.

His cerulean eyes reflected deep thought and troubling as he looked at nowhere in particular. He had been hurting himself, beating himself up over things that happened. He could never forget the things that happened, even though the others had, or at least moved on. All the while he was doing this, he didn't realize how much he was hurting others, how much he was hurting her. It made him hate himself even more.

"W-What happened to y-you? You used to be so carefree, so… y-you." Naruto's troubled eyes seemed to darken even more as she said this, a sort of guilt creeping in. "Bad things would always happen, but you would keep trying, no matter how hard things would get. A-and" She paused, sniffling as she struggled with the words to say.

"You would a-always give me that smile, and say that everything was alright. E-even if it wasn't, you still said that, because that's just how you w-were." She let out a small sob as she buried her face even further into his chest.

"I'm sorry.." It was all he could say, he didn't know what else to say. What _had _happened to him? An enormous amount of thoughts were running through his head, troubling, complicated thoughts. After a small while his cerulean eyes traveled to look off in the distance, the direction which the abandoned part of Konoha village rest.

"Can you promise me something?" He finally started, his eyes still trained in the distance. "If things get too dangerous, you get away as fast as you can, and don't look back." His deep, yet dark cerulean eyes held a sense of foreboding. Hinata paused for a moment before she brought her head up, letting her chin rest on his chest as she looked up at his serious face. His gaze traveled to hers, and they stood there for a moment, gazing into one another with meaning, speculation.

"Promise me, Hinata-chan."

Her eyes traveled downwards for a moment, before refocusing back on his urgent gaze.

"I-I can't-"

It was then that Naruto pulled her away from him, almost roughly as if what she said agitated him greatly. He still grasped her upper arms almost tightly in his hands as he briefly shook her. Her surprised, terrified pearl eyes focused on his. They were full of anger, but behind it, was the unmistakable grief, sorrow.

"Yes you will Hinata-chan! Do you hear me?!" They stood in the position for a moment, time standing still. It was when she struggled to hold in a sob when he abruptly let her go, guilt and apology flashing through his eyes. He turned around, facing the abandoned part of Konoha. His voice was slightly quieter now.

"I've already lost Sakura-chan to those bastards..I can't...I won't lose you too.."

Her pearl eyes widened as they caught sight of little droplets of water fall to the ground before him. His fists clenched tightly. He let out a small chuckle in disbelief, though it was not out of humor.

"She promised me.…she would come back.." His shaky voice could be heard, though his cerulean eyes still looked off in the distance. His fists clenched even tighter. "And I promised her..I promised that I would protect her…but I didn't do a good job of that.." He rose his head up towards the sky. "Did I Sakura-chan?" He brought his head down quickly, painfully.

"Naruto-kun.." She didn't stop the tears as the now fell the ground before her.

"Please Hinata-chan..keep that promise. Because I can't promise that I can protect you," He paused bringing his head up to its normal length. His voice was now steady again, a tone of seriousness to it. "That was a mistake I made once, and I won't make it again." With that, Naruto let out a huge sigh, standing up the tallest he could.

"The Kyuubi, it's still inside of me..but I can't draw on it's power anymore. When things get rough, I'll have nothing to rely on, but myself. I won't be able to do things that I normally do. And when that happens..I won't be able to protect you and others like I normally do. So that's why." His voice was almost cheerful, as if was it was just a small little random fact he was introducing.

"Alright!" He seemed to have regained his better demeanor, his voice bubbly as he placed his hands on his hips, looking off into the distance.

"Let's go, Hinata-chan." He glanced behind back at her, giving her a huge grin, he extended his hand out to her, holding that grin as his eyes gleamed at her. Though as she looked at him, she was still able to see the remnants of the tears framing his eyes.

_You've changed…Naruto-kun.._

She studied him, almost tearing up more as she realized what he was doing. He put on the smile for her, and she was thankful.

She then reached her hand out to his, letting him lead her up to the top of a roof before they parted hands. They were traveling in the direction that was the abandoned, decimated part of Konoha. Every once and a while, her deep pearl eyes would rest on Naruto, looking on at the complete change in his demeanor as they traveled towards his most hated enemies.

_And I don't know if that's a good thing, or bad.._

---------

"Sakura.." He called her name as he slightly patted her cheek. His eyes were searching frantically for any major wound on her body, for any movement that would signal she was ok. He paused, turning his head as he let out a small cough to the side. He was in there only for a short period of time, and he had inhaled an overwhelming amount of smoke. It only made him wonder how much she had inhaled.

That's when it struck him.

He put the side of his face in front of hers to see if he could feel that small tickle of breath on his face, he didn't.

"Kuso.." He silently cursed. He automatically lowered his face to hers, ready to try and breathe air back into her. Even in his rush, he slightly paused right before her lips, déjà vu flashing through him. He pushed those thoughts aside as he forced his mouth over hers.

--------

"C'mon Ino.." His troubled voice murmured as he brought his head up from her mouth. He brought his mouth back over hers again, repeating the process as he had several time. He breathed in another puff of air into her immobile lungs.

It was then that her body slightly propelled upwards air seeped into her lungs. She let out a series of coughs as a surprised Shikamaru held her up.

-------

She let out her last series of coughs before falling back into Sasuke. Her face was twisted into pain, her eyes closed as her head lulled to the side.

"Sakura" He firmly called her name as he brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. He then let that same hand slightly cup her face before patting her cheek once again. In response, Sakura slightly moaned as she lulled her head to the side once again. Though this time her eyes subtly fluttered before slightly opening to gaze at Sasuke.

"Sas..?" She paused as a few coughs racked her body. During the transaction Sasuke slightly lifted her up further into a better sitting posistion, letting her back lean against him. She tilted her head upwards as she once again tried to make out his features through her hazy view. Her emerald eyes widened slightly as she looked up at him.

She was about to say more, but both hers and Sasuke's eyes snapped to the area in front of them, where a lone shinobi jumped over the roof before them. Before he had a chance to do more, Sasuke was immediately upon him, shoving his fist into the Sound shinobi's abdomen. He fell incapacitated to the ground. Sakura pushed herself up into a sitting posistion, her face scrunching up in slight pain as she grabbed her ribs. She watched Sasuke as he casually walked back towards her, sitting on the ground next to her. He brought one of his legs up for his arm to rest on, while leaving the other leg, the one closest to her, bent almost indian style.

"Why did you come here? It's dangerous being near Orochimaru." Her voice was soft, almost shakey as she looked at him.

"I don't care about that, Sakura." Although abrupt, his tone was almost soft. The presence of Orochimaru wouldn't keep him away from here, he wasn't afraid of him. Though something else, something else scared him. It was inside of him, something that directed his movements, his thoughts. He looked away from her emerald eyes, looking to his side at nothing in particular. He had gotten over his great releif that she was alive, but now something else was troubling his mind. It was almost akward, uncomfortable to be around her, and for reasons he knew she remembered, and knew she would inquire about. He knew her well enough to know it would be widely indirect, subtle. Her questions.

She continued to gaze at him silently for a moment, this time unable to stop the tears from brimming her eyes. She seemed to be thinking about something.

"Why did you come?" Her voice was very soft, reflecting the tears that were soon to come, her tone high as she tried to control her emotion. For some reason, she almost seemed to be in a sort of denial. She wasn't ready to beleive the things that had sounded her ears only moments earlier. Her emarald eys wavered as she looked at his cast away eyes, his silence deafening to her ears.

_**"She understood you, forgave you. She accepted you for the monster you've become."**_

"Sasuke.." She muttered, the cry in her voice unmistakable. Her eyes slightly squinted as the first tears came.

_**"You didn't beleive redemption lied for a fool on such a path as you were. But she showed you otherwise, didn't she? This honorable, and beautiful kunoichi was willing to give up everything for you, she waited for you, waited for a love she thought never to be returned. And because of this, you finally realized how much you adored her, loved her." **_

"You came for me.."

When she said this, Sasuke's gaze met hers.

-------

"Shikamaru.." Ino murmured. She let out another small cough as her eyes slight opening.

"Ino, are you ok?" He worriedly asked.

"Where's..Sakura.." Her voice was weak, and barely audible through her disorientation. Shikamaru's eyes scanned no particular place. He had finally found himself then going through the shock at what he had seen earlier. That Sakura was still alive. Even more so that Uchiha Sasuke was here, and had desperately been looking for her amongst the burning building as he had been for Ino.

For some reason, even though Sasuke was supposed to be an enemy, he wasn't worried about Sakura. Could she have possible been with him this whole time? He pushed the thoughts out of his head as looked back at Ino. He could hear the sound of distant fighting; he was both not in the mood to fight and wanted to get Ino to a safer place, not that there was such an area here anymore.

"Can you get up, Ino?" She slightly murmured a positive at his question, seemingly too out of it to remember she had asked about Sakura. Shikamaru put her arm around his shoulders, and positioned her free arm around her waist. He brought her up, slightly grunting as he realized he was supporting all her wait. As he head lulled onto his shoulder, he realized that she had fallen unconscious again.

No "troublesome" or complaint came from his mouth as he shifted her onto his back, sliding his arms under and around her legs. He jumped up to a rooftop, traveling in the opposite direction of the fighting.

----------

Orochimaru rested on one knee as he sought to regain the air lost to his lungs. Even more perspiration coated his decaying forehead, lines of both pain and strain adorning his face. Kabuto jumped back next to him, coming from an encounter with Itachi. He let out a small breath, lowering into battle position again, with his eyes still trained on Itachi, who stood calmly on the other rooftop.

Orochimaru's frustrated face cringed even more as a thought overcame him.

"He's not at his full strength, lacks much of his chakra, suffers deep wounds, but he's still..stronger than me."

"Orochimaru-sama, stay back." Kabuto insisted, seemingly willing to take on the blunt of Itachi's attacks. A response to Kabuto's words, Orochimaru reinforced his snake-like eyes. Immediately a huge puff of smoke appeared. When it dissipated, a small armada of snakes surrounded Itachi at a wide range. Their appearance destroyed the surrounding buildings.

_That was the last I could do.._

Orochimaru looked at the huge group of snakes, their countless numbers seemed to add up to near a hundred. Their meeting with the earth had caused a huge quake, one that the entire village of Konoha no doubt suffered. From any point in the war ravaged village they could be seen. Their numbers were deadly for just one person to fight.

Itachi didn't move at all as his eyes scanned the snakes, he still seemed calm, unsuprised and always stoic. They then transitioned back to Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"Don't look into his eyes." Orochimaru finally added, he studied Itachi more, seemingly trying to find any weakness in the already wounded Uchiha. "No.." He started, his eyes squinting as he seemed to have realized something. Small relief flashed through his eyes, if only momentary. "He can't use them…" Orochimaru could see the slight strain it caused Itachi to keep his Sharingan activated. Should he use his Mangekyou, it would deteriorate his vision even more so, as well as his chakra supply, mainly due to him using it very recently. That was, if he remembered correctly. He slightly grinned.

"What's wrong, Itachi-kun? You seem, strained." Amusement somehow managed to make it's way into his course voice. He somehow just that more releived that, after time, Itachi might somehow be weakened enough to be vulnerable."How might you deal with these numerous foes?"

"It is of no concern." He replied. For some reason, Orochimaru was convinced by his abrupt words, the amusement leaving him. It really was of no concern to the Uchiha. He would continue to fight for however long he needed to., and with his skill, the numerous snakes must not be as bad as they seem. But for the wounded chakra lacking Uchiha, it might be a lot more strenuous then normal.

"Let me take care of him, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto then lowered into a fighting position, seemingly even more confident now that the enormous snakes were present.

"It would be in your best interest, Kabuto-san, to step aside." Kabuto slightly grinned at Itachi's words.

"Your mannerisms are still the same...but... it's been so long, Itachi-kun. I feel we should be reacquainted." Itachi seemed to contemplate, or more so analyze his words.Weighing the situations in his mind. Any time he was not fighting Orochimaru it would give him a chance to slip away, or use the biju's, he had no other options, especially if Kabuto was eliminated.

"Hn..then you will finally meet your fate for your betrayal." He finally answered, his voice calm and stoic as always. Orochimaru listened silently. He once again brought his hand up to the rope band that secured the numerous scrolls to him. His eyes then scanned the numerous snakes which he had created.

_This..will be a finale to remember, Itachi-kun_

Orochimaru seemed to reinforce his snake-like eyes as he watched Itachi. A grave, yet anticipating look in his eyes. It was then that the group of large snakes closed in on Itachi, and Kabuto bolted towards him, leaving the Uchiha no where to retreat. It seemed to go in slow motion as they grew closer to the former Akatsuki member.

Itachi's eyes slightly opened wider as he reinforced his Sharingan.

* * *

**Da na na na na na na na THANKS FOR READING!**

**Oh and by the way, if you were slightly unaware by what i meant with Itachi's and Kabuto's convo, if you've read the manga you should know, and if you HAVEN'T read the manga and don't want a small little spoiler, even though it's not really a spoiler, just something from the past,** DON'T READ PAST HERE.

**In that past, Akatsuki had sent Kabuto as a spy, to of course, spy on Orochimaru. But Orochimaru sooned figured it out and convinced Kabuto to join in, thus betraying the Akatsuki. THUS what Itachi meant by betrayal. Now there, ****that wasn't so bad was it?****Also, if any were a little confused by what Itachi meant when speaking to Orochimaru about "Taking more then your hand" he was referring to when Orochimaru was part of the Akatsuki years ago. He had tried to take Itachi's body, but the hottie beat his ass, cutting off his hand the one that had his Akatsuki ring on it, signifying he was out, and was 'bout to cut more than that, but Orochimaru managed to escape, taking his little snake hand with him.**

**Yea, Itachi has a great memory now doesn't he?**

**Chea..so reviews would be totally amazing, ambrodia, anyone? Please and ThankYou!**


	38. Chap 37: On the Inside

**A/N: **Summer fun and writing time! Summer fun and writing time! Way at Way at Way at. Yea, so I decided to be a doll and not overload on A/N this chapter around. - I know, long update! But I made the chapter a wee bit longer to help make it up!

**Fighting Song: **Alright now that this fic is really comin down to the wire here, I've introduced one of my main theme songs for all the action-packed scenes. It's from the soundtrack of Cellular(youtube it:p)I only like the beat though, so I just always put it back to the cool beat at the beginning. (almost like a piano made beat)

Youtube it: "Cellular- Sinnerman" (it should be the first one "Nina Simone-Sinnerman")

**Warnings: **I decided to add more fluff between Sas and Sak from last chapter, to make it a little more realistic. Its already edited into last chapter, But because it's important to what happens in this chapter, I decided to put it at the beginning of this chapter, for those who haven't read it hope ya'll don't mind!

Please Enjoy!

**Behind The Smile**

**Last time on: Chap 36: Ascending Situations!**(added addition to last chapter)

--

--

--

She let out her last series of coughs before falling back into Sasuke. Her face was twisted into pain, her eyes closed as her head lulled to the side.

"Sakura." He firmly called her name as he brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. He then let that same hand slightly cup her face before patting her cheek once again. In response, Sakura slightly moaned as she lulled her head to the side once again. Though this time her eyes subtly fluttered before slightly opening to gaze at Sasuke.

"Sas..?" She paused as a few coughs racked her body. During the transaction Sasuke slightly lifted her up further into a better sitting position, letting her back lean against him. She tilted her head upwards as she once again tried to make out his features through her hazy view. Her emerald eyes widened slightly as she looked up at him.

She was about to say more, but both hers and Sasuke's eyes snapped to the area in front of them, where a lone shinobi jumped over the roof before them. Before he had a chance to do more, Sasuke was immediately upon him, shoving his fist into the Sound shinobi's abdomen. He fell permanently incapacitated to the ground.

Sakura watched him from her sitting position, one which Sasuke had quickly but gently had pushed her up into before his departure, her face scrunching up in slight pain as she grabbed her ribs. She watched Sasuke as he casually walked back towards her, sitting on the ground next to her. He brought one of his legs up for his arm to rest on, while leaving the other leg, the one closest to her, bent almost Indian style.

"Why did you come here? It's dangerous being near Orochimaru." Her voice was soft, almost shaky as she looked at him. It also held a worried tone, almost to the point of reprimand, maybe a silent anger.

"I don't care about that, Sakura." Although abrupt, his tone was almost soft. The presence of Orochimaru wouldn't keep him away from here, it didn't scare him. Though something else, something else scared him. He looked away from her gaze, letting his fall downcast to the area in front of him.

She continued to gaze at him silently for a moment, this time unable to stop the tears from brimming her eyes, thoughts and memories overwhelming her.

"..I came to make things right." He continued, sounding resolved, however yet grave as he presumably tried to reassure himself; convince not only her that that was the reason. His tone almost implied that there was double meaning behind his words. And as he let his eyes transition to the destruction all around them, one became clearly evident. The other remained hidden as he let his eyes fall to the ground before him.

Her wavering eyes studied him silently for a while before traveling downcast such as his.

"…Why?" An incredulous inquiry. Her voice was very soft, reflecting the tears that were soon to come, her tone high as she tried to control her emotions. For some reason, she almost seemed to be in a sort of denial. She wasn't ready to believe the things that had sounded her ears only moments earlier. She surprisingly wasn't ready to let go of all the hurt, all the suffering; they were the only real things in her life, none at all temporary, none at all forgotten.

Her emerald eyes continued to waver as they raised to look at his downcast gaze, his silence deafening to her ears. His silence leaving room for accurate, yet unwanted assumption.

_**"She understood you, forgave you. She accepted you for the monster you've become."**_

"Sasuke.." She muttered, the cry in her voice unmistakable, her eyes slightly squinting as the first tears tried to come.

"_**You didn't believe redemption lied for a fool on such a path as you were." **_

"You came for me.."

Sasuke's gaze met hers.

--

--

--

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 37: On the Inside**

--

--

--

His deep obsidian gaze fell downcast to the area before him.

"..So it's true..isn't it?" Her voice almost seemed hopeful, yet sad, unsure.

Sasuke brought up a hand, grabbing the back of his neck as he closed his eyes, his head slightly turning as he did so.

"You weren't supposed to know."

"Why?"

"I didn't want you to know."

"Why?"

"Does it really matter, Sakura?" His hands had long since been balanced on his knees, hanging slightly intertwined together in between his legs. He lazily brought his eyes up to meet hers, seemingly needing no effort to remain stoic, display unemotional cold eyes. He let out a small sigh before focusing his gaze to the ground before him. "We're not going to be together..that's all that matters."

A brief silence ensued as Sakura continued to look at the Uchiha before her. Her gaze wasn't disappointed, only a slight disbelief flickered across her face. Though it was that of a knowingly feeling, assumption that something like this just might happen. And it did.

"So this is it, huh?

"..I won't let you give up everything you've worked for-."

"..Is this what you meant..by making things right?" Her inquiry was almost all the more impassive, laced with nothing but a grim understanding. Disappointment. She continued to look at him, his silence answering everything.

"Orochimaru was lying." She finally started, her eyes almost flickering with distaste. "This isn't love. This is far from…" She let out a feigned noise of humor. "..Maybe even for me as well." With that, Sakura struggled to get up, managing to do so as she started to walk away, or more so stumble away. This time, she let no tear travel down her face.

"_**..I won't let you give up everything you've worked for-."**_

"Oh.." She paused in her movement, seemingly remembering something; her gaze was still focused ahead, yet she successfully captured Sasuke's gaze. "I worked this long for you, Sasuke.." Her voice was calm, holding a tone of finality. "The only thought that consumed my mind as I trained, as I worked to become stronger, well-respected, was you. I knew that if I did that, I would be able to find you. I knew that if I made more friends, they would support me. And I knew that if I continued to love you, you would love me back…"

She paused for a moment, deciding to say more. A grim smile adorned her lips. What was behind that smile was only known to her, what was on her mind was only known to her. But surely the situation didn't call for a smile, though for Sakura, it did. It was her smile after all, a smile only made only by her.

"You do have a choice…to love someone, or to not…And the fact that you chose to do so, to love me..but not accept that.." She finally turned her head to look over her shoulder, her gaze briefly meeting his.

"Annoys me." Sakura continued to walk away, her steps calm and collected. Her emerald eyes focused ahead of her. The fact that she was the one walking away, that she was the one with the last words..it was nice. This time she would be the one to leave the other watching her back. This time, if he truly did love her, he would find her, he would fight for her. Just as she did for him.

As soon as she had started walking, Sasuke's hesitant, unreadable gaze fell downcast, wavering as he seemed to deeply contemplate something, hurriedly it appeared. He almost seemed panicked, unsure. Sakura continued to travel farther away as he did so.

It was then that his head lifted up to briefly look at the area in front of him. His eyes transitioned back to Sakura, and he moved himself off of the ground.

When she sensed him get up, when she had felt him moving towards her, she couldn't help the way her face twisted up, and the first tear that traveled down her face. She couldn't help the moment she stumbled far too much, and the moment she started her descent towards the ground, bereft of any strength. Overwhelmed. Her world became the darkness as exhaustion and pain finally took its role. Though, as she fell, a true smile graced her lips.

And he caught her, stopping her descent before a single stand of pink hair touched the ground before them.

--

"Is she okay?" They all met him, making there way towards Shikamaru as he slowed to a halt on the rooftop before them. Eyes were focused on the unconscious kunoichi in his arms. He glanced to briefly look at Lee, Chouji, Tenten, and Neji, then down to the woman in her arms before transitioning his gaze off to where he had just retreated from. He was almost contemplative, as if he desired, as if he decided to fight. An image of Sasuke holding Sakura in his arms invaded his mind, yet he said nothing.

Everyone else's' gaze also followed pursuit as another small explosion, what sounded to be the collapse of a building vibrated through their ears. The source unmistakable.

--

As many of the huge beasts dove for him, they completely destroyed the building in which he had swiftly retreated from. The huge rumbling and sound of the crumbling building was almost deafening, its collapse sending a tremor through the ground.

More of the snakes dove for the Uchiha, and he evaded again, jumping in the air before using the same one to catapult away. With excellent speed, he brought out a kunai to meet Kabuto's. Leaving no room for the power to over struggle, Kabuto brought up his foot in a small roundhouse kick, one in which Itachi easily dodged as he flipped onto another rooftop. Kabuto's eyes studied Itachi almost strangely as he remained in fighting position. It was clearly obvious that Itachi was intentionally evading. Evading without attacking.

Itachi fully straightened up, his Sharingan eyes transitioning all around him. He seemed to be contemplating, his eyes scanning the large number of snakes before him, his gaze transitioning around the area, at the buildings which adorned its ground.

Orochimaru's sight held no other than Itachi. There was no amusement in his snake-like gaze, he was completely focused, intent on the Uchiha's movements. His facial expression was almost grim, almost..worried.

_What are you going to do, Itachi-kun?_

Itachi seemed to have fully contemplated the use of his chakra; he had slowly brought his hand up in a single seal, still looking at the snakes all around him, almost as if he was hesitating. There must have been a consequence to the technique he would use, though he didn't seem minding of his own welfare. His Sharingan eyes calmly watched as a few more of the snakes dove towards him; and at the last moment he brought his hand down, equipping his hand with a kunai.

He then disappeared.

To the normal eye, all that could be seen, heard, were the continuous and numerous slashes all around a group of the beast-like snakes. Though both Kabuto's and Orochimaru's eyes seemed to follow movement within the group of snakes, their expressions placid.

Itachi reappeared on a rooftop nearby, his eyes trained in front of him, hand armed with the kunai held in front of him, parallel to his stoic face. The point of the kunai glared in the setting sun as it pointed outwards to his right.

It was odd as the group of a dozen snakes were planted stationary, seemingly in the same position as before Itachi disappeared. Any oddness was soon answered as the sections of the snakes' bodies started to slide out of proportion, an unpleasant sound heard as the friction of their insides did nothing to stop the body parts from thudding loudly to the ground.

More soon replaced their numbers, Itachi's attack hardly denting the mass armada of beast-like snakes. This seemed to trigger another onset attack by the great number of beasts.

--

"We need to get over there." Jiraiya's eyes weren't the only pair focused on the great number of beast-like snakes in the distance. Next to him stood Kakashi, his serious demeanor reminiscent of his eyes as he looked on with the legendary sannin. Kurenai's deep red eyes shared glances with Asuma and Might Gai before they all looked on in the distance.

Before them was a long expanse of clashing ninja's.

--

"I agree. Let's hurry." Neji bolted from his position, jumping onto the battling streets below. Tenten followed suit immediately, then Chouji, then Lee. With Ino still in his arms, Shikamaru followed as well.

Their destination was clearly evident.

--

Itachi swiftly dodged the onset of snakes diving towards him. As he made his way to the other rooftop, Kabuto was already upon him. They initiated a combo of attacks, disappearing and reappearing countless times to meet one another.

It seemed to go in slow motion as Kabuto's fist finally met Itachi's face; the former Akatsuki member's upper body bent backwards due to the inertia of the punch. Though, forebodingly, he stayed in that position, his face out of view as Kabuto looked at him suspiciously.

It was then that Itachi slightly brought up his head, his Sharingan eyes piercing as they calmly looked to Kabuto. Kabuto took a step back almost surprised as he continued to look at the Uchiha. The beast-like snakes around them finally started to dive in Itachi's direction, and it continued to go in slow motion as the Uchiha's upper body started to rise, Kabuto could only watch as he started to lean back, trying to evade.

Orochimaru's subordinate crashed into a nearby wall, nearly destroying the entire building with the amount of force that had propelled him.

(Song: Nina Simone: Sinnerman felix da housecat remix)

Itachi seemed to have fully contemplated the use of his chakra; he had slowly brought his hand up in a single seal once again, still looking at the snakes all around him, their huge mass countless. The consequence to the technique he would use was a great counterbalance to the consequence of the endless destruction to be caused by the beasts. His Sharingan eyes calmly watched as a few more of the snakes dove towards him; and this time, he did not bring his hand seal down.

--

Kakashi's Raikiri filled fist moved parallel to Jiraiya's Ransengan filled fist as they dashed towards the huge group of Sound ninja's blocking their way. The sound of thunder tuned in with the deafening silence as the two fists made contact with the first bodies. The resulting explosions flared out in a straight secession, side by side, wiping out the huge expanse of Sound shinobi before it.

Following the explosion, and while the clouds surrounding the explosion were still amidst, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy appeared, initiating their own attacks.

Kurenai, kunai at hand did a small three-hundred-sixty degree spin, letting her kunai take out those within her span. Asuma, equipped with both his duel blades, cut through his opponents as well, punching a few every once and a while. Might Guy used his immense speed and taijutsu skills to send every shinobi he encountered to the ground.

--

"Naruto-kun!" Naruto responded to Hinata's brief call by wordlessly grabbing her hands as she offered them. He then briefly spun, supporting her as she used her feet the kick the shinobi surrounding her in a circular motion. They parted once again, continuing to fight their way through the large expanse of clashing ninja before them.

Naruto brought up a brief seal, immediately a clone replica of himself appeared beside him. Each Naruto brought one hand together, moving them in a spherical motion. As the ball of chakra formed in-between their hands, the clone's hand didn't retreat. Both hands splayed out side by side, the ball of chakra spinning around, supported by the both of them. Leaving no resting moment, the two Naruto's ran in sync.

This Ransengan devastated a much bigger explosion, clearing an area completely of the Sound shinobi. As soon as the explosion initiated, the Naruto clone disappeared, and the real Naruto continued to battle his way forward.

Hinata briefly closed her eyes, opening them to reveal her Byakaguun, the vein-like structure becoming prominent on the sides of her face. Immediately a huge seal appeared underneath her, the bluish glow emanating from the seal stretching out underneath the expanse of Shinobi surrounding her.

Her hands were angled in the familiar deadly point, her fingers poised and ready to strike. She didn't utter a word as she stabbed one open palm into a shinobi, the strike heavy. She then moved to another as she delivered to heavy strikes. Another shinobi suffered the wrath of another two more moderate hits. She continued doing this, transitioning her attacks to another every two hits, her speed increasing with each strike. Her strikes soon moved up to four, followed by eight, followed by sixteen, followed by a dazzling thirty-two consecutive pinpoint-precision strikes.

A large group a Sound shinobi fell before her. But she continued, the seal below her now emanating a purple glow. This was the point where the difference between the renowned Hyuuga Neji's technique was clearly seen.

Hinata immediately began spinning around, all the while pushing chakra out of her body in all various chakra points. Soon a lively looking circle of chakra surrounded her. The speed at which she was spinning caused her to only be perceived as a blur, the chakra around her finely spinning in a spherical motion.

Her movement was similar to a spinning top as her and her chakra ball, decimated any body they came in contact with, the speed of spin deadly. As she cleared an opening, Naruto took it, his cerulean eyes calm as he dug his fist into a Sound shinobi who was attacking one of the Leaf.

--

"Soushouryu!" Tenten propelled herself upwards between the two spinning scrolls around her, reaching her hands into their endless depths.

The bluish chakra once bursting from Neji had just expanded into thin air as she finished his ultimate defense. Shikamaru's shadow has just returned to him. Both shinobi moved in through Tenten's endless rain of falling weapons, focusing on the Sound Shinobi that weren't falling stricken to her weapons.

Hands poised in pin-point precision, Neji shoved his fists into countless Sound shinobi with ease. He moved his head to the side to avoid the kunai that had been shoved his way, and with quick speed he turned his body to the side, allowing more power as he stabbed his hand into the enemies abdomen. The speed in which he would strike his opponents made his movements hardly visible as he transferred from each Sound ninja continuously.

Even with one hand, Shikamaru fell victim to no Sound ninja. Ino hanging from his shoulder, he ran alongside Neji under the falling rain of weapons, pounding his fists into any who crossed his path. He then jumped back a few feet, briefly releasing the arm holding Ino to his shoulder to bring both his hands up in a seal. Immediately a shadow hand reached out above a mass of Sound shinobi, falling flat as it clapped on to them, creating a small tremor as it did so.

Lee than dashed in with his immense speed and taijitsu specialty, performing a series of half cartwheels before balancing on his hands. He continued to swing his legs about in a windmill like motion, his speed carrying him further along his path. His legs were like razor to the Sound shinobi he made contact with.

--

"Doton: Yomi Numa."

The area underneath a majority of the beastlike snakes disappeared, the war ravaged area turning into a very large, immense swamp. The snakes toppled over each other as they slowly were engulfed by the huge swamp.

_What?_

Kabuto watched as a large portion of the snakes disappeared into the depths of the huge swamp-like anomaly. The bruised on his body slowly started to heal, the only evidence of his injuries his torn and dirtied clothing, along with the dried blood that had seeped from his mouth.

Itachi calmly watched at the snakes victim to the swamp were engulfed. It was clearly evident why he didn't use the technique before, despite how many of the giants he would have been able to take out. A large portion of Konoha had to be sacrificed, completely vanished from the very spot it stood.

He had no time to stand still as what was left of the large snakes dove towards him, threatening to engulf him. He remained stationary, equipping each hand with a kunai. The two snakes which had dove towards him were halted as Itachi's kunai dug into their heads, holding them to his will. Itachi then let his eyes transition around him till he spotted Kabuto. Letting out a whisper of a grunt, and with immense strength, he sent the snakes towards Kabuto's position.

Kabuto barely dodge the hurdling snakes before Itachi was upon him, digging his two kunai into his abdomen. Kabuto coughed out blood almost immediately, some of it speckled onto Itachi's face as he dug the kunai deeper. Even as he squeezed his eyes shut in pain, Kabuto managed to pull out a kunai, digging it into Itachi's shoulder in return. Not showing any sign it caused any pain, Itachi, briefly pulled away before delivering a kick to the kunai still embedded in Kabuto's abdomen.

As Kabuto flew back, let out a small gasp of pain as he quickly pulled out the kunai. Immediately the wounds started to heal. But before they could fully heal, Itachi was upon him, delivering much more combos of attacks. He seemed well aware of his ability to heal, and was intent on not providing him with the chance.

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes were disgruntled and grim as he watched Kabuto get pummeled by Itachi endlessly. He grasped the scrolls attached to his rope-like belt even tighter.

Kabuto coughed out even more blood as Itachi threw him into another building. He crashed violently, causing many huge pieces of the concrete building to fall around him.

"Katon: Goukakyuu No Justu."

The glasses adorning his eyes had long since been crushed and forcefully discarded from the bridge of his nose. Only his two pairs of eyes were left to open wide as they were only consumed with view of the large, scorching fireball making its way towards him.

"Kabuto!" Orochimaru hollered out in warning, and in worry.

Kabuto's high pitched scream echoed throughout the area as the fire scorched his skin. But soon, there was no noise, as if he had either died, or disappeared. And as he appeared on another rooftop, it was clearly evident which one it was.

Itachi's Sharingan eyes looked calmly at Kabuto, while Orochimaru's were grave, surprised. The snake-sannin let out a small grunt of distaste, more so anxiety.

Kabuto's ragged, seemingly painful intakes of breath were clearly audible. The skin on most of his body was deformed, burned very badly, and he was still steaming from the recent exposure to fire. He was on his knees, seemingly just from the pain alone. Itachi was about to make his way towards Orochimaru's subordinate, but his eyes snapped to the side as he sensed something upon him.

Hinata's slowed to a halt, taking in deep breaths as her surprised pearl eyes transitioned from Orochimaru to Naruto, who was in the motion of stabbing his kunai towards Itachi.

His kunai briefly stabbed into Itachi, before he disappeared into a puff of smoke, remnants of a clone made with great speed and skill. The Naruto who had stabbed the clone, also disappeared into a puff of smoke. The real Itachi, who had jumped onto another rooftop, was left slightly surprised as another Naruto, seemingly the real on was already upon him, kunai at hand. This time Itachi's calm eyes only watched as Naruto was about lodge his kunai into him.

The next events transpired so fast that the only thing seen was Naruto colliding into a nearby building.

Naruto quickly picked himself up from the rubble of the building, his cerulean eyes burning as they caught sight of the one who had kicked him into the spot he now stood in.

Uchiha Sasuke stood next to Itachi now, his calm eyes looking to Naruto. Him and Itachi briefly exchanged glances, almost seeming to have an unspoken conversation. Itachi nodded his head as Sasuke's gaze transitioned back to Naruto.

"Sasuke-teme! What the hell?!"

As his cerulean eyes watched Sasuke wordlessly transfer an unconcious pink-haired woman to Itachi, they widened as the features of the woman were recognizable.

"Sak-" He was cut off as Sasuke appeared right in front of him, leaving not even a centimeter to separate them. The Uchiha's head almost surpassed Naruto's shoulder as the two were nearly ear to ear, his deap obsidian gaze focused ahead.

"Stay still, Naruto." Naruto, clearly agitated, said nothing as his cerulean eyes focused on the unconscious woman in Itachi's arms. He was confused and angry at why Sasuke would give her to him, the very man who he had sought to destroy, who had kidnapped Sakura in the first place.

It was then that Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's chest, on contact his hand almost pulsating.

--

**Inner depths**

The small amount of water that blanketed the entire concrete floor was catalyst for noise caused with each of his casual footsteps. The little droplets of water that would drip from the ceiling at timed occurrence set the calm, yet eerie stature for the dark place, barely lit by far spaced candles attached to the walls on either side.

With hands casually placed in his pockets, Uchiha Sasuke walked towards the large gate at the end of short-lengthed hall. The rusted, iron bars did not hint to any weakness at all whatsoever. His head lifted up towards the ceiling as his eyes found the original sealed tag attached to the gate. Where it was once a single tag, now a long expanse of seals adorned the gate, evidence of another technique used, completely prohibiting action from the beast in the confines of the gate.

As if on que, a quiet rumble falling suspicion to a growl sounded from deep in the confines of the iron gate. Sasuke's stoic gaze traveled to look beyond the gate, his eyes trained on something that was not perceivable to the normal eye in the darkness, yet to him.

Large, red eyes then opened, seemingly glaring at him lazily.

"You again?" The demonic voice rumbled, the breath released from the words created a very noticeable breeze at it flew past Sasuke, ruffling his clothes. If it was meant to intimidate the Uchiha, it did not.

"Don't sound too happy to see me." A small smirk adorned Sasuke's lips. It then left as quickly as it had come. "No matter." With that, he proceeded to take off the first seal, bringing up a hand. His Sharingan eyes appeared, glowing prominently in the dim light. On contact with his hand, the seal disintegrated completely.

The entire head of the large beast had revealed now, its large fangs clamped together.

"This is more enjoyable then our first meeting." The Kyuubi rumbled, seemingly a little more than content as he observed Sasuke freeing him.

"Aa" Sasuke touched the next seal, leaving it to disintegrate into the air.When he had finished removing the fifth seal, Sasuke simply moved his hand to the final seal, yet this time he only fiddled with the corner of the seal, feigning thoughtfulness.

"Say I release you. What will you do?" He continued to fiddle with the corners of the first seal, almost teasingly.

It was then that the Kyuubi fully revealed itself, its large claws resting on the grooves at the bottom of the iron gate. The Bjiu slightly opened its mouth, revealing even more so its fangs as its head almost protruded through the openings in the gate, a low demonic growl rumbling from its throat.

"Destroy the one who did this to me, and maybe this entire county on the side." The Kyuubi's deep demonic voice echoed once again, doing nothing to hide his intentions. Sasuke's seemed unbothered by the close proximity of the biju that towered over him, he glanced at it before returning his lazy eyes to seal. He fiddled with the seal for a moment longer before retreating his hand.

"Well that's too bad. I had wanted you to do something else for me."

The Kyuubi paused, its eyes focused on Sasuke as it seemed to read his intentions. After a moment, almost submissively, the Kyuubi retreated into the confines of his prison so that only his head was revealed once again.

"What is it you seek from me?"

"In the very near future..I just might have to release you fully, completely separate you from this jinchuriki of yours..at that time I want you to fight alongside the shinobi of Konoha village."

The low rumble of the demonic laugh that came from the Kyuubi echoed throughout the area.

"I remember _Konoha. _It's _shinobi _toppled over one another trying to flee from me."

"Aa."

"And what makes you think I will do this of you?"

A small smirk made its way to Sasuke's face.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't do it out of the gratefulness for your release." He paused, bringing his hand up to the seal once again, fiddling with it. Just as he did so the smirk from his face disappeared, a cold, serious demeanor taking over. "Just as I can release you, I can imprison you, and then destroy you." He then let his eyes transition back to the Kyuubi, the cold depths of his deep obsidian eyes almost burning into the biju.

A small silence ensued.

"Fair enough." The Biju replied, seemingly convinced. "Anything else you wish of me?"

"Until that time comes, you will stay, of your own will, in your jinchuriki and lend any power that he may need, though I have a feeling you will already do that. You are well aware that his death means your death as well." There seemed to be a double meaning behind his words.

They Kyuubi let out a small grunt of amusement.

"Don't worry about your little friend, Uchiha. It's comfortable in here, and I've found myself growing quite fond of him."

"Good." Was all Sasuke said as he simply pealed the tag from the iron gate. He casually placed his hand back in his pocket before turning his direction to walk away.

The sound of the large Iron Gate creaking open drowned out his footsteps.

--

Sasuke stepped away from Naruto, who looked surprised. He lifted up his shirt to see the seal of the Kyuubi once more take its place around his belly button. Yet it looked different.

"Naruto-kun!" He put his arm around Hinata as she appeared next to him. Sasuke simply smirked as he looked into her wary pearl eyes.

"Itachi is not an enemy, dobe. Don't attack him again." That seemed to be his way of implying that neither he nor Itachi were enemies here, more so to the Hyuuga than to Naruto. And he did so successfully as he saw Hinata's shoulders relax slightly. With that, Sasuke looked over to Itachi before disappearing, revealing himself next to his brother. He then took Sakura out of his arms, and held her almost protectively as he finally looked on at Orochimaru, who seemed to have been waiting patiently.

Itachi had long since been focused on him and his subordinate, Kabuto, who had taken the time he needed to do a great deal of healing before once again positioning himself next to Orochimaru. Some of his burnt skin was still unhealed, and he did not look happy.

"Sasuke!" His deep obsidian eyes transitioned to Naruto.

"..Is..she..Is that really Sakura-chan?" His voice was slightly soft, reflecting the tears that almost adorned his eyes.

"Hn."

Almost as if he was satisfied, his cerulean eyes finally made their way to focus on Orochimaru. He disappeared with Hinata to appear on the same rooftop as the Uchihas. A few rooftops separated them all from Orochimaru and Kabuto.

All eyes then transitioned to the both their lefts and rights as they sensed more chakra. They were met with familiar faces.

--

The sound of fighting could be heard in the distance, the smoke inhaled by those standing on a small cliff not too far away, one that provided a bird's eye view of the war ravaged village. And overhead the small cliff top flew a small bird, one that looked to be a messenger bird, finally arriving back to Konoha.

"Hmm.." Temari placed a hand on her hip, slightly grinning as she down to Konoha. A few leaves from a nearby tree blew past her, the slight wind ruffling her clothing and uniquely spiked pigtails.

"Looks like we arrived just in time." Kankuro said, sharing the same small grin. There was no hood from his former outfit covering his head, nor paint like decorations adorning his face. His brown, all the same spiky hair flared out nicely.

"Maybe next time around we can actually come when it's more peaceful, neh?" Temari looked to her two brothers standing at her side.

They both looked to their Kazekage, standing silently between them as his emotionless eyes looked at Konoha in its destruction. The "Love" tattoo adorning the corner of his forehead was prominent as ever. As he sensed their eyes on him, he let out a small, brief grin as well. It had been quite some time since they had stepped foot in Konoha, and they wouldn't have imagined that they would be coming to help them in a war yet again.

"Are you all ready?" He finally said.

"Lets do this." They replied almost cheerfully as they focused their gazes on the destination before them. They then took off, making their way into the war ravaged streets of Konoha. Their army of Sand Shinobi followed right behind them.

--

"My my," Orochimaru started, a tone of amusement. "We've gathered quite a crowd now haven't we?"

Neji, TenTen, Lee, Chouji, and Shikamaru had come from the west; Kakashi, Jiraiya, Kurenai, Asuma, and Might Guy had come from the east. They weren't the only ones as more Leaf and Sound Shinobi had arrived, each taking their respectful sides on North and South.

Kakashi's eyes scanned the area, finally resting on the unconscious woman held in Sasuke's arms. His eyes weren't the only to focus on the pink-haired woman, all not knowing that she had been alive this entire time.

"Orochimaru." Jiraiya's voice sounded the area. "You end here."

Orochimaru grinned. "I don't think so." He looked up to the dimming sky as the sun had started to set, creating its clashes of orange and purple beyond the mountain horizon. "I want to have my finale first."

It was then that he firmly grasped one of the scrolls attached to his rope-like belt, throwing it out before him.

* * *

**Thanks For Reading!**

RANTINGS

**Alright.  
To all , to the idiots , morons , jackasses, pricks , even the not so stupid people whose curiosity was just sparked at this introduction of a bashing . For the sake of tips , with sites like these , where brilliant people have the talent to come up with beautiful stories , and take the time and effort , and risk to display them for the world to see , it's inevitable that some will attempt a plagiarizing of these stories and ideas , and attempt to take credit for themselves - and all that fun goodyness , because they are selfish , idiotically incompetent morons who have no menial life , and who are failures - particularly in the subject of writing - having no talent at all whatsoever ; nor perseverance or patience or CONSIDERATION .  
**

**Why don't I start this off with saying that there it not ONE similarity between my story and any other fiction**** - of course , discluding the morons AFTER myself who chose my story to steal and reproduce under their names; reason why you might happen to to recognize some things ;reason for this lovely length of an acquisition/ insultation.  
**

**Due to this lovely cessation of idiots and events , I've been receiving all sorts of deliriously ignorant messages and reviews from those, who i assume have just started to read my story , those who say they've read some things somewhere else , things with uncanny similarity . I assume it's people who have just read . because those who have been riding along this adventure of a story with me since 2005 know that the story is sincerely mine , my ideas , my thoughts , my everything . There couldn't have been similar stories back then because my story was in it's newly stages , getting it's boom of renown in the latter stages of it's production. No one knew too much about it. Now that years have passed, people have read, and it's still going on, what do you know, similarities with my story.  
**

**Let's get to the hate mail , shall we ?  
There's been talk about similarites like Sakura having pink eyes , Neji and Tenten battling evil-doers together , insanely idiotic things as such , yada yada .**

**FIRST OFF, i have Neji and Tenten as a couple in my story, why would i not put them together fighting? Seeing as how this is an ACTION story. Notice how Naruto and Hinata fight together? Ino and Shikamaru?And with this being a story in which the protagonists are Sasuke and Sakura with their monotonous love-hate relationship , we obviously see them together alot , saying the unthinkable , doing the unthinkable , fighting the unthinkable . Woop de freakin do , shiminatwo . **

**The thing is , these little squirts of jackoffs would just be broad in their acquisitions - generally complaining about how Neji and Tenten fought together , etc.**

**Well , I'm pretty sure the FUCKTARD(S) who stole from me wasn't that courageously stupid and deliriously bold enough to paste word for word on my couples' battles together , keeping in mind the fact that not many writers on this site go into as great detail in battle and descriptions as I do - I say this while disclaiming to any accounts of narcissism . So uhh , are you gonna get on every single fanfiction that has Neji and Tenten fighting together ? Sakura and Sasuke's confontations ending in heartbreak ? Naruto's insane love for Ramen ? Give me a break - and get me a cup of cocoa , marshmallows on top while you're at it .**

**They even had the audacity to get on me about the whole battle between Sasuke and Sakura - the whole Chidori/explosion of an ending , and having her miraculously survive ! I really had to put a lot of effort to prevent myself from dropping to the floor , and doing the whole rolling around hysteria while laughing hysterically . What the hell is your problem ? I guess i owe my sincere apologies for not being shallow and uncreative enough to have a lengthy story in which a superbly main and necessary character dies in the beginning stages . I like to make my stories as REAL and cinematic-like as i am able , so uhh , EXCUSE ME , if i decide to put some fucking drama in MY DAMN STORY , Thanks . **

**I really do have future theories - swearable ones at that , that the world is going to end because of your RETARDED people . And no , before you start getting on me about using the word retarted to explain the lot of you soulless vamps , I'm not referring to the handicapped people , farm from . Any intelligent person , or even alphabet-literate one would know that those kids are freakin geniuses , and would never be ont he low level that you idiotic morons are .**

**There are countless amounts of people who have written about the same subjects and ideas - such as marriage , finding Uchiha Sasuke , HIGHSCHOOL , this and that , the works ; disappointingly , that's how far the world has fallen , into a unanimous cohesive unit of tainted originality , where one person is hardly discernible from the other in every single way - where even the imagination is starting to have limits , self-worth is declining , mediocrity is reaching a milestone high . And writers can't write for crap , especially when tempted with the goodies of those around them who actually can write , or are bright enough to have great ideas . **

**So , about these similiar stories , it doesn't mean in any way that they are the SAME , as we've been forced through toleration to allow such similarities. These similiar stories don't have the same scenes , etc . You can't get on all these people about having similiar character reactions , speach , etc . , cause if everyone depicted the anime characters like they are in the anime , many scenes of stories really would be the same - unless completley different ideas and plotlines shaped them (an aspect that is dwindling since no one can come up with sane , good ideas of their own - not ones that are disgusting in their wierdness). . And as much as I can't stand it when people have exact same plotlines and what not , I am ever more so growingly disgusted with the OCCness that represents itself with every character . As much as i would like to promote the uniqueness of all your ideas and thought processess , and enactment of your stories , I would like to stress and factorize that Imagination shouldn't change owned and copyrighted characters, damnit ! I am sick of all the faults and problems and candid lameness that all you writers and readers ignore in your diluted imaginations .**

**I guess luckily, however sadly, hardly any writer on these sites depicts the characters well at all on their own, so it should be a big, hugely enormous neon sign saying PLAGIARISM when you see someone who uses similiar dialogue and character reactions, scenes, and ideas, and descriptions - especially when the spefic scene, etc. is unique, something that isn't used by even a fraction the fanfiction writing population. Please don't be stupid and miss this, assume without cause. I will hate you for it forever.  
**

**I would like to know , please , WHY on earth you don't see anyone getting on those who write about sickly related ideas of marriage , etc. - which would actually be kind of sad , seeing as how it really isn't that hard to tie anime stories into the real world - but you have the nerve to get on ME about Haruno Sakura having pink eyes ? There are billions of people out there , and it's not too far a stretch from normality for someone to think of PINK EYES . There are countless aspects of my story that no other people could come up with , at all , guaranteed - similarities would ONLY result from people skimming through my story and reproducing them as their own , however much they try to mold it into their styles . **

**GET A FUCKING CLUE, thanks.  
**

**I know you see it, that I have 40 chapters in this longly drawn out yet uniquely real story. I know, you don't really think that there's anywhere I could make this story that long stealing ideas. Every single scene and dialogue in this story are completely original, and don't share any same quality to any other story - again, discluding those after me, who would seek to utilize my great ideas as their own. My ideas are so original that i would copyright them if i could, damnit. However, that's not possible if you decide to be nice and create stories on open sights like these. And that's what makes it more frustrating, when you decide to stray from the norm, and be creative. And then have those ideas stolen. Yuck.**

**DO ME A FAVOR, BE SMART, AND CHECK THE PUBLISH DATES FOR THOSE STORIES YOU JUST READ...ALLL OF THEM WILL BE A LATER PUBLISH DATE THAN MINE...GUARANTEED..**cause i will swear on a stack of bibles** that i take nothing from other stories and that those people took/take from me. I even caught one..a story "Love Conquers all...I think" (recently deleted due to my infiltration a few weeks ago with a buttery sweet warning - which left other nosy reviewers to see , and bash/flame the bitch :) )who stole almost everything from my story. My whole Koizumi story (CAN"T get more original than that), and the scenes between Itachi and Sakura were the most prominent, she just changed the names, and put a bit less detail. Its a horrible feeling to see someone else has taken your ideas , and gotten credit for it . And ruined them, with their horrible writing skills. I wanted to gag.  
**

**And uh , if chance has it the publish date/update date is earlier than that of my own , which is SLIM TO NONE, you would probably find a similar idea like PINK EYES...but see a completley different plot line or whatever the hell else pertains to that "similar" idea. **

**DON'T DRAW CONNECTIONS TO THINGS THAT AREN'T THERE. **

**You'll only exhaust the worthless imaginary thing you call your brain. **

**And what blows is these bastards are anonymous so i can't just reply and tell them, soo that's why i decided to put this rant at the end of this chapter for every one to see. At the risk of my oh so booming popularity on this site . And because i am an author, i know that it takes time and effort to make these stories we make, so why would i steal ideas? Especially when i'm capable of writing my own? I'm not one of those idiotic people who have no sense of right and wrong. And who can't write for their lives.**

**Great, cool, you like writing, wanna try it out. Awesome for you. If it doesn't work out , and you know are a failure , and that you obviously make horrible life decisions , DON'T RESORT TO STEALING OTHER AUTHORS IDEAS!!**

**Oh and i promise i'm a nice person , actually . I guess i could take the time to apologize for my cunning crudeness - i could have taken a calmer , kinder approach , however sometimes that just doesn't cut it , relay what you want to imbed - especially when it comes to stupid people , the ignorant bunches . You all can judge me based on this little slab of words i've just written , go for it , but please , _please _don't act like you know me . Save me the time and breath , and yourself the humiliation of being owned to the third power - i would destroy you , from the mind out if you seek to challenge my words or values , and who i am as a cynical optimist . I really don't care what you think about me . I'm here to write fanfiction , not babysit little retards who don't know jack , and accounting for whatever thought that farts from their incompetent minds . It's a shame that people resort to stealing ideas , though it's even more ridiculous how people can't see things right in front of them , grasp the concept of things that are otherwise obvious to their closed - ignorant minds . I'm sorry you can't handle the fact that similar ideas happen - though i must admit , even i can't . It's hard to beleive that many people come to the same consensus free of any individual influence or display from others . Not even half the world is that bright . Or talented .**

**I'd personally like for someone to message me and reiterate that my story is the same as someone elses - and not the other way around , I'll give you a stamp for fucking stupidity . Please , show me one story that has the same plotline as mine , dialogue , battles , scenes , dramas , climaxes , weather , etc . .. Uhhh , you won't . Unless more fuckups have stolen from me - and of course if you can't wrap your head around the assumable foundation that many writers use from the anime series about Sasuke being gone , Sakura finding him , all that bizz . ZOMG , big woop . I'm talking about details , and all the twists and turns and ACTION i put into mine, things that change it from the whole norm of typical occurrences.  
**

**You really can't look at all my scenes, between Itachi and Sakura, Sasuke and Sakura, Itachi and Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata, Ino and Shikamaru, everybody, the battle scenes, the twists and turns, the way things lead up to each other, the way each chapter seems to have a story of it's own, the way each character's thoughts and emotions and reasonings are deeply and unconditionally delved into as to allow the complete involvement of it's readers into the story, the way i put hints of songs to play to make the reading more enjoyable and fit the scenes, you can't look at anything in my story and say they relate in any way to any single author. That I got any ideas or was influenced by anything i've read.There's no way. And if it's so, it's obvious that investigation is needed, to destroy pricks who would chose to belittle me and other authors by stealing. Stealing is for bad kids. And i trample on bad kids, all day, everyday.**

**They'll never get my lucky charms.**

**Oh, and for those of you who think that getting a little more than irked about it means i'm guilty, FUCK YOU. An author can only take so much of people going..Hmm..i've read this here, i've read this there..its really similar... Why dont you be smart for once in your life and check the fucking publish date ? Once you do you'll feel like a lowlife and realize how much of a moron you are. **

And I will forgive you cause i know the statistics are high for people who suffer from **STUPIDNESS.**

**Sorry for any of you who get offended , Really. But go cry me a fucking river while you're at it.**

**And i guess i'd like to add another small blurb about the assholes who don't review. I know who you are, this site tells me these things, who puts me on alert, all that fun stuff. And out of the VERY large number of people who have, only a fraction of that have the decency to drop and and say hi. ****It's not like it's a big thing, it's enough to know that your story is being read, and possibly appreciated. I'm all about giving to the crowd of mongrels, but damn, just don't bite the hand that feeds you. Not for this case. ****So, to all of your pricks who don't take the minute to drop at least one review for the entirety of this story. Thanks. I hate you all.**

**OH, one more thing. For those of you who are great and supportive of me. Much thanks , sugar cakes . I appreciate you being intelligent enough to realize that this really is my story , no strings attatched , no ideas stolen or borrowed. And being great, commited readers who take the time to review, and tell me what you think of my hard-effort-created story. ****It's all of you that keep me writing ! Well , actually , even the stupid kids too , just to show them an ability that they can't harbor in their retartedness . Yes , it must be human nature for us to laugh at others' (non-life threatening or destroying) misery .**

**Thanks, have a great day, and happy freaking writing.**

**Dumbtrickerita**


	39. Chap 38: Reason for the Past

**A/N: **Thank you all so much for the amayzing reviews! Really. I know I always say that at the beginning of each chapter, my thankyous are so overrated, but really, I just want to let you know how much I always love reading them. They make me smile, and feel all happy inside. Just…the fact that a lot of you support me, is just great..can't explain it haha. Oh, and I'd also like to thank you flamers too cause it lets me know that you took the time to read my story, and opinions are your own.

I know my chapters may come out slow, and I have many excuses I can throw out, but I'm not going too, EVEN though there was a really good one for this one(chap on labtop, got lost in system restoration by someone who didn't tell me till after, chea, it was 8 pages finished, I totally freaked out) I just wanna say I won't stop working on this story until it is completely finished, so don't worry if I take a while to update! ;) I'll continue to try my best to prevent that.

Karma. I'm telling you guys now, its real, and it will get you, or free you if you use it right.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the MANGA Naruto series…I would know what was going on…I would know if they manga writers were SERIOUSLY thinking of putting Sasuke and that what's her face girl together. …what happened to Sasuke Sakura forever? I'm bout to shank some mo fos (Kidding). LUCKILY I own the anime series so you don't have to worry about seeing any of that BS. -

**Warnings:**

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 38: Reason for the Past **

**--**

**--**

**--**

His deep obsidian eyes had been fixated on his older for quite some time now; no emotions flickered in their depths, but observation and speculation directed them, bewilderment and wariness hid behind them. Something about Itachi had caught Sasuke's eye, and his serious gaze hadn't transitioned away from the older Uchiha, not once.

Itachi's own gaze was trained on Orochimaru, un-moving, just as his was.

He didn't make any movement, he didn't make any sound. The complete stillness that had become his way was unrivaled, unsurpassable. However, it was not what had stirred the younger Uchiha's attention. It was not what gave Sasuke's orbs the reflection of slight surprise, question. Passions that minutely twinkled past his emotionless façade- his stern, serious facial expression.

His older brother, Uchiha Itachi, always calm, always unemotional, highly tolerant, indifferent, was not.

Even through his emotionless demeanor, a deep writhing emotion flickered in the depths of his blood red Sharingan.

Fury.

It was the same fury that had transitioned Sasuke's gaze, its pulses of abhorrence emanating from his brother in very minuscule, hardly discernable waves. Through that same calm demeanor it would be almost impossible to make notice of the seething anger that seemed ever escalating inside the Uchiha. Ever unheard of.

There had never been a time, not one account, in all the years he had been both away and apart from his older brother that he had ever seen or heard of the older Uchiha angry or upset in any way. Some recent event had sparked this occurrence, some recent event must have finally started the chain of emotions that had been building up inside him; whether it had been sole in its effect, or merely the cessation of a long expanse of brooding. What could have made Itachi react in such a way? What had happened, what had slowly built up in the Uchiha to leave him uncaring as to control such an emotion, uncaring as to show such an emotion? Or did he even know he was letting the anger show amidst his gaze?

**Flashback**

"Itachi," Kisame's annoyed voice was barely discernable from the rumbling of the large waterfall spilling its contents into the rapid water mass below.

His own eyes were closed as he sat upon the large boulder, his shark-like partner occupying the boulder next to him.

"You need to stop playing around." It was then that the silent Uchiha let his calm eyes travel to his comrade, silent as he listened. "One day the carelessness you bring about in a battle will bring about an irreversible mistake. Trouble that could have been avoided."

**End Flashback**

"Everybody move, move!"

The riveting sound of the explosion and crashing buildings sounded the area, echoing to the point of deafness. The occurrence of many shinobi greatly lengthening their distance was evident, sign to the threat beyond; Clouds of dust and smoke, including that of appearance spread outwards, almost sizzling in its noises.

The ex-avenger kept his eyes on his brother, seemingly unbothered by the current threat that had just appeared, and more concerned with usually unemotional former Akatsuki member. He readjusted the unconscious pink-haired woman against him, holding her even tighter, protectively.

The clouds of dust and smoke were moving towards them steadfastly, yet the two did not move, even as the strong winds created by the exploding appearance greatly ruffled their clothes and locks of raven-colored hair. Sasuke's deep obsidian eyes were focused on his older brother as he continued to look ahead, his Sharingan eyes focused on Orochimaru, even as the snake sannin seemed to disappear into the smoke that had flared out. He needed no sight to know where the "man" was.

Naruto stopped in his tracks as he glanced back to the two Uchihas standing stationary. Even with the deafening sounds of crumbling buildings and earthquakes he attempted a calling, his own ears hardly picking up on the sound from himself hollering his former teammate's name; the background sound almost drowned his own out. His surprised cerulean eyes sparkled with anxiety as he called his former teammate's name.

Sasuke made no indignation as to hearing his call.

Though as if on queuing to Naruto's call, and only when the clouds began to enshroud the two did he slowly transition his gaze away from Itachi, to rest on the sightless area before him, as the older Uchiha did.

And the two brothers disappeared into the depths of the smoke and debris.

Letting out a silent curse, Naruto fully turned, moving his own two legs in a run towards the area where the two had disappeared.

"Naruto-kun!" He too, made no indignation as to hearing Hinata's worried call; he continued his travel towards the smoke and debris that was racing to him as well.

--

Their gazes were focused ahead, even as the dust, smoke, and debris allowed no sight from locations, allowed no sense of direction. Their attire and raven-colored hair continued to ruffle and sway from the strong winds being produced, even more so as they started their casual walk against it.

Moments had transpired without a single word between the two. It was in the last moment that Sasuke glanced the side at his brother before retreating his gaze to watch ahead.

"Orochimaru is known for his cowardice, it manages to keep him alive." His out-of-the-blue statement was what finally transitioned Itachi's gaze to his younger brother. Sasuke's tone, as always was void of emotion, yet there was a slight uncomfortable ness, as if he had contemplated his words, also had slight difficulty in speaking them. Even through his stoic demeanor it was discernable that he didn't seem pleased with the wording of his statement. And where one would sigh, he did not. But where one would try again, he did.

The two Uchiha's came to a halt, their gazes transitioning to look slightly upwards at something that was unperceivable through the mass. Sasuke's gaze had briefly traveled to Itachi, noticing that nothing about his demeanor had changed, that same abhorrence practically rolled of his calm features.

Almost uncomfortably Sasuke's gaze quickly transitioned towards the ground, to his older brother, and back upwards towards their previous sight. He put his hands in his pockets once again.

"It wasn't because of anything you failed to do." His words were solid, impassive, yet all the more abrupt, uncomfortably said. He didn't bring his gaze to look at Itachi, only kept it forward, his demeanor serious, unchanging due to the words he had spoken. Unchanging to the wave of brotherly emotion that had caused him to speak those words of reassurance.

Itachi slightly tilted his head down as he closed his eyes, letting out a barely audible yet amused release of breath. During that time a barely discernable grin directed his lips. However, he still said nothing.

He had stopped in simultaneous stride to the partly dissipating clouds of smoke and dust, revealing his Sharingan as he opened his eyes once again; Sasuke stopped with him in perfect rhythm, doing nothing to remove his hands from the confines of his pockets. Both their gazes had transitioned to an upwards angle of sight.

Just as soon another very large tremor trembled the earth, as a large burst of fire- its thinness resembling a whip lashed out towards them. Itachi calmly leaned his body to the left as Sasuke casually bent forward, hands still positioned in his pockets as they effortlessly avoided it, neither feet leaving the ground; the fire quickly thinned about before seeming to retreat. This transaction lasted not two seconds as the Uchihas were already back to their previous positions, standing tall, gazes focused at that same upwards angle.

"Sasuke."

"I know."

The piercing sound that accompanied the activation of Sasuke's Sharingan echoed throughout the streets of Konoha. The image of burning flames reflected in their depths, signaling to the anomaly in which his and Itachi's gazes were focused.

--

"Nekomata" Jiraiya's calm, informative voice was clearly heard, even through all the panicked noises coming from the shinobi still retreating even further back- the subsequent earthquakes to the collapsing buildings still continuously shook the ground before them, disgruntling them.

Kakashi took a step to stand by Jiraiya's side, his gaze focused to the same place as he. The wind had picked up as he did so, clearing the clouds of smoke and dust even more so. A flickering light reminiscent of flames reflected off their skin and clothing; the retreating clouds bringing sight to the source of the enormous foundation of fire.

Kakashi continued looking onwards, the reflection in his eyes showing the roaring flames; only after a few moments did his gaze transition slightly downwards, reflecting the image of Sasuke running towards the flames.

--

The large cloak adorning Itachi's body swayed greatly in the wind, his hair also ruffling and flowing in various directions; His Sharingan orbs slightly squinted as specs and embers of fire flew past him, the large winds threatening to push him back. The reflection of large, beaming red eyes flickered in the depths of his eyes simultaneous to the large cat-like roar that seemed to bellow from the center of the flames.

It was then that the older Uchiha started his sprint, following in the footsteps that his younger brother had taken moments earlier.

--

Sasuke continued to climb in elevation as he made his was towards the large beast- quick leaps delivering him to the tops of any rooftops that created a lesser height difference between him and the enemy he held in his sights. Sakura's light weight did nothing to hinder his speed; he continued to dodge bursts of fire that would come his way, effortless flips and turns directing his movements.

The large flickering flames reflected off every inch of him, the translucent blends of red and orange lighting up his skin.

Only when he reached the highest vantage point of the village did he briefly stop; it was the only building not completely engulfed by flames, though slowly becoming one as the fire started to spiral up its sides.

--

Itachi came to an abrupt halt, his hands already in the movement of performing hand seals.

"Suiton: Suigadan No Jutsu."

For the first few moments it had seemed that nothing had happened. Only when a slight rumbling shook the earth a large distance away, did the technique seem clear. The already broken up street in front of the older Uchiha created a large whole as high pressured water shot up from underneath- its speed and intensity reminiscent of a geyser as its deafening currents continued to echo. The large, seemingly never-ending sprouting of water curved from it's upwards explosion, bending to shoot rapidly towards the flames and its foundation: The Nekomata.

As it traveled towards the biju, its contents spilled into a sort of waterfall, its water rushing through the long street, filling the cracks and side passageways as well; this did nothing to hinder the amount as it tumbled towards the cat demon. The flames the large waves touched sizzled loudly, letting great amounts of steam travel into the air.

The large waves of water crashed around the buildings that Sasuke's position hovered over, filling the opening like a lake as the water thrashed about as it grew adjusted to the small area of space it was being pushed into. Each ripple caused a large portion of the water to splash up like a large wave to a height even higher than the building Sasuke stood upon.

"Hyoton: Haryu Moko No Jutsu."

Sasuke's stoic voice seemed to echo as he finished the hand seals; immediately the sky slightly darkened, aphotic clouds making themselves manifest above the opaque sky. Little particles of snowflakes fell from them, the air all around biting with a harsh coldness. Another thrash of water against the building he was on catapulted a large wave of water to tower above it; If it were to come crashing down, it would take the building with it. Slight cracking could be heard as the large wave slowly started to halt in its progress, liquid conforming to ice. This transformation continued along down the wave, shooting out as it reached its foundation, the large body of water below it freezing completely over in seconds.

Though, just as soon the large body of water had started to reverse in its frozen transformation, searing flames once again starting to crowd the area; the humidity and scorching moisture in the air manifesting itself once again. Sasuke wasted no time in his jump towards the temporarily frozen wave, a bluish light of chakra emitting from the soles of his sandals as he ran up its lengths. His Sharingan gaze was focused on ahead of him as he ascended the momentarily frozen wave, the flames continuing to reflect off his body, the clashing colors of red and orange and yellow lighting up his features under the darkened sky.

When he reached the pinnacle of the frozen wave, there was a brief pause as he lazily glanced at a burst of fire continuing on its course towards him. His calm gaze remained focused on the burst of fire, its lengths reaching his position at such a close range that the frozen solid underneath him had already began to liquefy. He only catapulted to the side as the water burst out from its shell, the liquid exploding to even higher lengths. That same bluish chakra remained on the soles of his feet as he jumped up with the crashing water, using it as leverage to jump to an even higher height. He automatically flipped to the side in a short of cartwheel - both of his arms occupied to the holding of the pink-haired kunoichi in his arms, guaranteeing her safety.

This movement seemed to go in slow motion as his calm, yet cold Sharingan gaze transitioned to the source of his excursion.

The Nekomata's cat-like body towered numerous times the height of any Konoha building, flames serving as the fur to its back, sprouting in every which direction, setting aflame any area near it. The large cat was hunched down on its four legs in a crouching position, its long tail whipping side to side as a low rumble of a growl vibrated its throat. Sasuke's ascension had allowed him momentary eye-level with the beast, his mid-flip leaving him in an upside down position.

Time seemed to stop completely as he reinforced his Sharingan, gaze never leaving the searing red, slitted eyes of the biju.

--

All eyes had been on the large biju that had appeared- the shinobi of the Leaf, Sand, and Sound. Though those long moments filled without action lead to a bold Sound who had thrown at kunai towards a Leaf. This had started the flurried battle in the streets adjacent to the flaming fires produced by the large biju. Though, they had slightly halted in their fighting, curious, surprised gazes peculiarly looking at the particles of sand that had immediately but slowly began to rise from the ground underneath them. For moments they floated around, un-acting. It was only when bursts of gravel-like sand shot from underneath them did they let out surprised grunts. The bursts of sand throughout the streets acted as sort of pillars, lifting up what seemed to be only the shinobi of the hidden village of the Leaf. Surprised, the emotion ending them up on their bottoms and hands and knees, the now levitating Konoha shinobi looked to the sand underneath them, and to the Sound shinobi below them.

A few moments of silence mingled with ushered noises of wonder and flabbergasted huffs passed, escalating with alarmed yells as what looked to be numerous puppets came sweeping into the partially filled streets. A few of them were halted by thrown kunai from the Sound, though most had filled themselves in their ranks, clutching on to the nearest being. As if on que, even more sand burst from the cracked earth below; immediately after a very strong wind, seemingly created, whirled around the sand, causing it to come crashing back down over the Sound shinobi left on the ground, blanketing the streets to even out with the tops of some of the lower buildings of eight feet.

A few seconds has passed before various portions and parts of the sand were momentarily uplifted as muffled explosions dented its interior. A few more sounded underneath the sand before all went still; the moments following were deafened with complete silence.

The Leaf shinobi still residing at the peaks of the still floating pillars of sand let out even more noises and huffs of surprise as they gazed down at the barren area. The sand supporting them had slowly started to disintegrate, leaving the shinobi on top to fall a few short feet to the blanket of sand below them.

Gaara lowered his hand down to rest at his side, his calm eyes not glancing to his brother and sister right next to him; all gazes were focused on even more of the Sound shinobi that had appeared, running atop the large blanket of sand towards the Leaf shinobi, and them. In retaliation, the shinobi of the sand started running from behind them to meet on the opposing force.

And so, even as a large biju towered over the large village, they continued to fight a distance away, not intending to stop until the other came down.

Not intending to stop unless given a reason to.

--

**Inner Depths**

With each of his casual footfalls, the barren, cracked and extremely arid earth beneath him would moan, result of the various cracks continuing to enlarge with each passing moment; there was no adjacent sound to this but the slight current of wind that lightly whistled in a continuous rhythm, its breezes slightly stirring his spiky raven-colored locks of hair. His hands were in his pockets as he calmly walked amidst the barren, nearly opaque space.

And he had stopped, almost casually, but too abrupt to be without question, too sudden to be without suspicion. The reason made itself manifest as his hand shot out before him, a clearly audible noise echoing as his hand clenched onto a the Nekomata's face, its nose denting in and twisting around his single-handed grasp. Only the head had appeared, its size almost tripling Sasuke's height, its fire-enflamed countenance flaring about the Uchiha, threatening to burn him, even as its enlarged eyes represented its surprise and dismay at Sasuke's awareness. The wind had severely picked up, leaving every stitch of his clothing and locks of hair to follow in the directing of the currents; the image of the Nekomata was almost ghost-like, its image appearing as a sort of mist, greatly declining and starting to flare out in all directions, greatly distorting the intact image it had appeared as.

The whole time this transpired, his cold Sharingan eyes never left the Nekomata's.

And the piercing sound of the Sharingan echoed throughout the space as the Uchiha reinforced his Sharingan.

--

Sasuke's landing provided no noise as the soles of his sandals gracefully asserted themselves among the earth. Casually he repositioned Sakura so that he held her bridal style, her head falling against his chest. He glanced at her for a moment before letting his eyes fall back to the beast that had once before occupied it.

No sound was made, except the large tremor caused by the Nekomata as it fell to the earth below it, its body leveling any of the buildings that had still been standing.

--

Naruto had stopped in his sprint when he had arrived a few feet away from Itachi's side, his wide cerulean eyes looking to the fallen biju, watching in surprise as the flames once adorning its back slowly retreated into the sky, disappearing like mist.

"What. The hell?"

**Flashback**

His deep cerulean orbs watched as Sasuke executed the side-flip, his height causing seconds to pass before his fall landed him on the ground.

The Biju fell to the ground the moment his sandals touched the ground.

**End Flashback**

--

Itachi's countenance was calm as always, he did not seem at all surprised by what had just happened, instead his flickering eyes were focused on Sasuke, though, they seemed honed in on a specific part of his younger brother; his Sharingan must have allowed him greater sight.

For some reason his gaze was focused on Sasuke's hand, slightly hidden beneath Sakura's cuddled arm.

--

Sasuke stood, deathly still, his eyes obscured by the bangs hanging in his face as his head had slightly tilted down.

The background noise of even more explosions and battle cries slightly sounded in the distance, result of the distant fighting between the various shinobis of the three villages involved in this dispute.

--

Instead of bringing two fingers to slightly push his fallen glasses back up the bridge of nose, Kabuto brought up both his hands, repositioning them as his wide eyes sought to answer as to what just happened.

In complete opposite to his apprentice, Orochimaru's eyes were wide with a twisted kind of excitement, his mouth slightly agape in a sick grin; the piece of skin that had slightly peeled off the side of the humanly flesh he was in fell off without reaction, revealing the pale skin of his original; he seemed unaffected by this, his excitement much more empowering.

"This power!" His voice was laced with excitement, perverted as his mouth twisted into a opened-grin. It opened wider as he let out laugh reminiscent of a crazed individual.

--

"Jiraiya?" Kakashi's voice was very grave, surprised, perplexed, almost in a sort of horror. Though it seemed to come from knowledge, remembrance. No change made itself manifest in his eyes, though the serious expression the tensed muscles in his face were causing were clear enough to the thought of something being wrong. As his gaze transitioned to Jiraiya, the sannin reflected these same facial expressions, demeanor.

"The similarities are uncanny" The older shinobi's drawling yet grave-sounding words slightly rumbled out of his throat.

--

_All of the shinobi looked up in slight fear at the large biju by the name of Shukaku. Its one large tale was very slowly waving from side to side, its large mass most likely cause to the idleness. From a large overview of the countless shinobi lined up, it was perceivable that various inscriptions and symbols were engraved onto the headband protectors that each shinobi wore. They all represented different entities._

_The Land of Fire_

_The Land of Water_

_The Land of Sound_

_The Land of Earth_

_The Land of Rain_

_The Land of Grass_

_The Land of the Waterfall_

_The Land of Lightning_

_The Land of Wind_

_They were all brought together as one, and they were fighting, signifying the threat to which had caused this anomaly was great._

_In front of these countless crowds of Shinobi stood nine separate figures, each adorned in the separate symbol of their province, all eyes grave, worried, yet determined, much more knowledgeable that their counterparts behind them. In each other their grasps rest one child, all sound asleep. _

_The figure adorned in the forehead protector engraved with the insignia of the Sand stepped forward, placing the sleeping baby and the weaved basket it lay in on the broken earth before them. He stepped back, almost hesitantly._

_In front of these nine figures stood one lone shinobi, his hands swiftly moving about in a long series of handseals. His long spikes of blonde hair slightly hung around his face, his deep cerulean eyes trained on the very large beast towering above them. The insignia of the leaf engraved in the forehead protector he wore slightly glistened in the glare of the setting sun._

_The large, piercing shriek of the Shukaku sounded simultaneously with nearly drowned out cries of a single baby._

--

Gaara briefly transitioned his gaze from the clashing shinobi to look at the event that had unfolded between Sasuke and the biju. He didn't seem surprised, though his emotionless orbs slightly squinted in speculation as he noticed the lifeless body of the Nekomata. He depicted no dismissal through body movement, only let his eyes travel back to his Sound shinobi, he brought up his hand in a seal.

--

"Only he's killing them."

"How is it possible?"

"I don't know." Jiraiya's almost aggravated, yet worried voice uttered his reply. Both his and Kakashi's gazes focused on Sasuke, they both seemed to be looking for something, something having to do with Sasuke.

--

_The flickering sound of burning flames echoed throughout the village, creating clashes of bright colors to the once opaque village, bereft of much light due to the night that had fallen upon them. Deep red, glaring, cat-like eyes calmly looked on from the Kyuubi's towering position over the village; its nine tails were traveling harmoniously from side to side, though the speed would present it as abrupt snapping as they shot back and forth elegantly._

_In all the panicking and distressed calls of the Konoha shinobi below rallying defense and greatly retreating due to many injuries and casualties, one lone shinobi stood atop a very large toad, fully facing the demon._

_From the distance it was perceivable that his hand was brought up in a seal._

--

"When that technique was used his chakra supply had been completely depleted…Do you remember, Kakashi?"

The former sensei's eyes slightly glossed over, memories reflecting in their depths.

"Yet he continued to use that technique over and over again…" The silver-haired jounin started. "And because of his lack of chakra it slowly started to take his life…and he knew it"

--

Sasuke slowly, menacingly lifted his head up to reveal his burning Sharingan gaze.

The up and down heavings of his chest signified that he might have been under a much significant amount of strain, recovering from a much strenuous action. Though his breaths were hardly discernable as he breathed in and out calmly, his releases of breath slightly inaudible to those far away.

There was slight perspiration dotting his forehead in very minuscule specs. They glistened as the last ember from the post flames had sparked before ceasing to exist.

--

"_We have to stop it before it gets to the village!"_

"_Hold it till the fourth gets here!"_

_All there panicked hollers and commands to one another were almost deafened out by the grunt of pain coming from the shinobi who had fallen back, seemingly from various attacks._

_The large demon fox continued to rampage against them, only stopping when it halted to let its eyes transition the very bright light being emitted from a distance, its bluish colors rivaling white as its glow grew bigger and bigger._

--

"Despite his power, his body couldn't take it…all the stress it was going under, the complete chakra depletion." Jiraiya's solemn, yet strong, informative voice needlessly reiterated the past. "He used that technique to seal every single one of the demon beasts that had plagued the country. The Kyuubi was the last, and the most difficult."

As if one que, Kakashi's and Jiraiya's gazes transitioned to the blonde-haired shinobi standing a distance away. Just glancing at him screamed the great resemblance to the deceased Hokage

--

Naruto's deep cerulean eyes were no longer wide, yet speculative as he watched Sasuke, his fists clenched. There was a small ine of perspiration dotting his forehead, it became evident as a small drop traveled down the side of his forehead. It could possibly be from the large amount of heat that had been created by the now deceased demon cat, or from the frustration and foreboding that seemed to down to his thoughts. The suprise, that anticipation.

Though he stood tall, strong, he seemed ready for anything that would happen; he was ready to fight, the time was now. He clenched his fists, finally releasing his eyes from Sasuke to look at Orochimaru and his suboordinate.

--

"Minato Namikaze…"Kakashi slightly drawled off in thought as the memory of the Yellow Flash brought more memories.

"Minato..he had talent once seen in a decade at best. He was a genius, and no one like him had been born before. " Jiraiya started. "He was a nice kid, but his desire to be above everyone else was the fiercest i had ever seen. And in the blink of an eye, he was the Fourth Hokage."

"Naruto really is like his father in a lot of ways." Kakashi pondered.Even as they both talked on a light subject, their voices were no where near light, instead almost melancholy, wary, laced with the seriousness of the situation they were in. But right now they were merely standbyers, watching the events unfold before them knowing they would do nothing. Not yet. "It really was great having him as a sensei, and then being his son's sensei..their resemblence is undeniable...Though i think he's more like his mother.."

"Uzumaki Kashina" Jiraiya interupted. He let out a small grunt of amusement. "She grew to be so beautiful, but she was just like all the guys. Constant Jabbering, insanely noisy, hollaring voice." He let out a small grin. "That's why Naruto's her son."

"That's why I see _him _in Naruto. Everything else. His strength, his courage. His insane determination." Kakashi paused after his words as he seemed to contemplate something further, deeper, something that never seemed to have left his mind, but found its time to pop into inquiry."Is he ever going to be told?"

There was a slight pause between the two.

"He would be furious at the fact that we kept it from him for so long..that we had kept the maiden name of his mother to insure that."

"Though, don't you think that if at any time, now would be best? There should never have been a reason to keep it from him in the fist place." Kakashi replied.

--

Naruto slowly brought his lone hand up into a seal, his burning cerulean orbs never leaving Orochimaru.

_It seems inevitable..that he will find out _)(Kakashi)

--

"Well then tell me.."Jiraiya started once again. "What reaction would you take at having found that your father sealed such a beast inside you, condemned you to a life of solitude and attacking hatred? Finding that he died doing so..that he became a part of the-"Jiraiya paused in his words, sighing in a way of dismissal.

Kakashi let out a sigh before their gazes simultaneously traveled back to Sasuke.Now both their thoughts were focused on Sasuke, focused on what the past memories meant for him. What it meant for the whole future of this village, the whole Fire country.

"He's going to lose his life if this continues.." Jiraiya started. "Die for a village that shunned him. For a village that he couldn't stand to be a part of." Kakashi let his eyes focus on the unconscious Kunoichi in the Uchiha's arms. "For the people he grew to care about."

A sort of confirmation flickered in the depths of their gazes as something caught their eyes, something located on Sasuke's hand.

--

Itachi's eyes seemed to flicker with even more anger as his head slightly tiled up, gaze continuing to focus on Sasuke's hand, something had caught his eye, and he could perceive it clearly. They only lingered a moment longer before snapping to Orochimaru.

The intricate markings detailing the younger Uchiha's hand were uncannily similar to the designs of the curse seal, the substance that hadn't covered his body for years, yet still remained, hidden in the depths of that single curse seal, located at the base of his neck.

Though its miniscule amount covered his entire right hand, its fabrications were unique yet unpleasant to look at. As well was the very tight, abrupt clenching of that fist before it hid itself completely behind Sakura.

Something was wrong.

* * *

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Sorry, I contemplated making it longer because of the delay, but I really just wanted to get it out, so here it is! **


	40. Chap 39: Reason for the Future

**A/N:..**you know, I think the setback with this story is the fact that I write it chapter by chapter, meaning I don't have this huge plan for how each chapter is going to go or how the whole story is going to end, at all. So I honestly don't know how long this story is gonna be, and what I'm typically shooting for for a finale. And so I have to think through each chapter on what I should put, making sure it doesn't screw up anything for the future events, and all this and that, I just write as I go along, and gah. It's insane, and I think that's why I have the tendency to take a hella long time with each chapter, call it writer's block, but I just have a hard time deciding what I want to do for each chapter, and finding the motivation to write it the best way I can, details everywhere. And so I take long breaks thinking that when I come back to this story that all will be well, well..doesn't happen.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series, I'd be tied down the the new chapter of manga a week thing, aand I wouldn't have a life because I don't have things and future events organized.

**Warnings: **Like always I never put a song into any of my chapters that can't be found in youtube. So, I have a song later in the chapter, that I of course motion for you to play at the specific time in parenthesis, from the Naruto Shippuden OST. It's the first song for the OST, labeled 01, so if you type 'Naruto Shippuden OST 1' or any form of the sort into youtube, it should be one of the first choices. Hopefully for those of you who like to listen to music to improve teh quality of the reading experience hope it works out!

**Behind The Smile**

**Chapter 39: Reason for the Future  
**

**--**

**--**

**--**

A world of darkness, the deafening resonance of the complete absence of sound its only happening. In its complete form it was like this, and for quite some time it was; no thoughts, no dreams, no feelings, no sensations - only the absence of color in the dark, black world of unconsciousness.

A heart beat. Cessation to a continuous rhythm of thumping. Slow, calm.

A second heart beat, separate from the former source. Cessation to a continuous rhythm of thumping. Faster, stressed.

A sudden intake of breath.

A slow, ragged exhale.

A brief moment of bated silence ensued after the unexpected interruption; which sounded yet again in the uncannily same, paralleled tenor as before. It continued now without hesitance, drowning out all other sound.

Warmth, in the otherwise cold state of unawareness.

Light.

This was the final anomaly to disrupt the indifferent, thoughtlessness, whist haven of darkness.

Emerald orbs slowly fluttered opened, eyelashes acting as a small protection from the immense light that instantly invaded them. Eyelids retreated further back, a blurry view casting sight to incoherent figures as they remained stationary in their positions; as well as the blurred image of something immensely large, darkly black.

Emerald orbs were sheltered once again as her eyes closed, darkness consuming her sight for a small moment of time before receding as they opened once again.

Sight was once again caught on the same image, however this time at a less blurred caliber than before; the heavy background noise of heavy breathing continued as her gaze transitioned away from the sight ahead.

A slow-timed blink closed her eyes yet again, reopening to gaze upon the strong, defined arms surrounding her. Her gaze continued to ascend upwards along the path the well sculpted arms provided, continuing past the toned chest slightly protruding through the black material clothing it, finally halting her eyes rested on a blurry face.

Her eyes closed one last final time before reopening; sight was almost impeccably clear as her emerald eyes followed more closely the chiseled face that bore foundation to dark obsidian orbs.

And the two pairs of eyes clashed.

"Sakura." He said this calmly in greeting. His eyes had already transitioned away from her to look on at something intensely. "Are you hurt?"

"I-I'm fine." She murmured as she let her clear sight follow his averted gaze to meet Orochimaru..and a wound-free Kabuto next to him. Her head had slightly tilted up in surprise before something a distance away from the two caught her attention; the immensely large, cat-like body resting motionless a few spans ahead of them; its size doubled the height of any of their buildings, even on its side. Her wary eyes widened as they looked on in silent confusion for a long while.

From its horizontal position she could not see all of it, just as she could not imagine who would have been able to take it down.

She slightly swallowed before letting her silent gaze transition around more, observing the destruction all around her – the destroyed buildings, broken up streets, the black staining the remnants of what had been alit in flame . There was a low level of water blanketing the streets that was not able to be absorbed by the already oversaturated ground and cracks. It was in her observatory that she found Naruto; only half of his body faced them as he was completely focused on Orochimaru and Kabuto- his cerulean eyes were burning with an intense anger, yet his facial expression was calm even in its sternness; although the continuous twitching of the corner of his mouth hinted to him trying to contain a disgusted snarl.

Opposite from him on the other side of the battle-ravaged street stood Itachi. It was discernable even from the large distance that separated them that he was focused on Orochimaru as well. Her head slightly lifted up in surprise as she recognized him; she would have never expected to see him here, and it only made her more eager for information as to what was going on. How long a span of events she had missed.

"I can stand." She softly addressed Sasuke, her eyes still on Itachi as she brought a hand up to grasp the fabric of shirt on his chest, placing her other hand against his shoulder for added support as she tried to raise her upper body.

It was then that her emerald gaze removed themselves from Itachi and snapped to the side of Sasuke's face; she noticed his jaw clench on queue to the pressure she applied against his shoulder, signifying it caused him pain. Even so, no sound escaped his clenched jaw - his strong body stood firm, acting as a solid support for her, he did not flinch. Whether he noticed that she noticed, he did not show, his gaze continuing to focus intensely on Orochimaru.

She released the pressure immediately, moving her other arm to instead, reach around his back in a sort of hug, her other hand remaining lightly on his chest; she purposefully grasped the upper area around his ribs as opposed to his lower side, well aware of the wound that still found itself there.

In reaction to both her words and way of movement, he carefully released her legs from his hold, leaving one arm to continue its hold around her waist, allowing her feet to touch the ground lightly. It was then that he released her in accordance to the small space she moved to put between them, to balance herself on her own.

The moment she began to support her own weight, however, a wave of dizziness passed over the Kunoichi, and pain stunned her. Though subtle, her slight waver of a stumble caused Sasuke's gaze to briefly transition towards her, signifying he kept himself very aware of her state and movements, even in his averted attention; His arm immediately but casually replaced itself around her waist, drawing her near him once again.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled apologetically as she leaned her body into him as he voicelessly offered to support most of her weight. Even with the small amount of weight she was supporting the pain started to escalate, the numbing her unconsciousness gave her was beginning to fade away. She couldn't help but let out a small ushered hiss of pain, however barely audible.

"You're hurt." He did not glance at her, his gaze continued to remain fixated on Orochimaru, but the tone to his voice was uncannily soft, affectionate, even in its flatness. Also slightly accusing, implying to the lie she had told moment ago that she was fine. There was an underlying tone as well, a sort of irritation with her condition.

"Not as bad as you are." Her tone was almost haughty in its softness; there was also worry laced with her slight reprimand , signified by the squinting of her emerald orbs with overwhelming emotion as she looked up to his occupied gaze – as she brought an arm around him for more support and in affection. Sasuke said nothing, only leaned her into him more, reducing even more the weight she had to support. She knew it must have hurt him, but he didn't show that it did.

Their close proximity in her conscious state was what brought her attention to his breathing, déjà vu. His ragged, shaky, slow intakes of breath, his inhales pushing his rib cage against her with each repetition. The feel of his rapid heartbeat . She could clearly see the perspiration dotting his forehead in beads, the taught lines etched in his calm face.

"Its nice to see you're well, Sakura." Orochimaru's sadistic greeting sounded their ears, and it only made Sasuke pull her closer as he continued to eye them. "You've missed quite an amount of events. Would you like me to fill you in?"

Sakura said nothing as her wary eyes transitioned to gaze at Orochimaru. As her view of Orochimaru also allowed sight of both Naruto and Itachi, she glanced to them as they had followed Orochimaru's gaze to her, very swiftly, almost in surprise. She could see no visible reaction from Itachi, but Naruto had fully turned towards her, his eyes slightly wide with surprise, evident was the relief.

Her eyes traveled to look back at Sasuke. The brief current of wind that had passed through ruffled Sasuke's clothing, briefly allowing sight to the clenched fist at his side, the one he hadn't moved since he released her from the bridal style hold. It was then that she caught sight of something black detailing his hand. As if he noticed where her eyes lay, his hand buried further into him, and completely out of sight, even as his clothing continued to ruffle.

She flashed back to the brief image of his hand. The black markings decaling it…

They weren't from the curse seal.

Her eyes slightly squinted in speculation as they alertly shot to look up to his face. Her mouth had opened to say something, but she wasn't given the chance.

"Sakura-chan." Her head turned in surprise to their left side as Naruto's worried voice sounded with his appearance next to them – his speed was incredible. She glanced to Naruto before returning her gaze to Sasuke's hand, which had immediately buried itself even more out of sight. Her suspicious and wary eyes traveled to look up at him once again, his gaze still focused on Orochimaru.

She looked back to Naruto who had glanced to Sasuke, almost speculatively, almost warily, yet calmly, before he refocused his gaze on Sakura. "Are you alright?"

"I'm ok."

"Sakura go with him." Her surprised emerald eyes shot back to Sasuke, who did not return her gaze. He started to release her; she said nothing, her eyes slightly wide in a sort of panic as it seemed she would resist.

"Now wait just a minute, Sasuke-kun." Where Sasuke had been removing Sakura from his side as he urged her to Naruto, he brought her closer again, and Naruto slightly stepped in front of them as Orochimaru and Kabuto appeared a few yards away from them.

"Don't you want to hear another story, Sakura? You missed quite a …beast of things while you were incapacitated. I'm sure you have many questions."

Her wary emerald gaze transitioned to Orochimaru as she placed her hand lightly on Sasuke's chest once again.

Orochimaru and Kabuto were only a few yards away from them, but the tall roof of a building they stoop upon lengthened that distance in a way, and that left the shinobi on the ground to look at a slightly upwards angle towards them.

Sakura looked to Itachi as he appeared next to them, the opposite side from Naruto. She met his gaze as he briefly glanced to her, his silent eyes flashing in a sort of greeting before he returned his gaze to Orochimaru. It seemed he wasn't in the mood to speak.

"Don't waste words." Sasuke flatly addressed Orochimaru, his gaze emotionless, yet stern, serious.

Orochimaru's eyes slightly narrowed before reaching to his waist-line, his fingers resting on one of the remaining scrolls, in a reassurance type of way. "Why Sasuke, I thought you would have liked a bit more time for rest, you must be under quite an amount of strain, exhaustion." All eyes traveled to Sasuke, but he said nothing. "Can you handle taking another biju down? What about after that?"

_He..took that down? By himself?_

Sakura's surprised emerald eyes glanced to Sasuke, then to the lifeless, black body of the Nekomata before returning to Orochimaru.

Itachi's head was slightly tilted up as his Sharingan eyes glanced once again in the direction of Sasuke's hidden hand. His gaze slowly transitioned away before he very briefly closed his eyes, almost as if a feeling of disappointment, perhaps something greater was seething in his gut. His re-opened gaze had fixated back to Orochimaru.

"Enough." Was all he said.

--

"They just keep on coming." Temari let out a small grunt as she spun with her overly-sized fan, the burst of wind spiraled in a straight line, taking out any shinobi on its path.

"They more than triple our numbers." Kankuro's aggravated voice sounded as he used a kunai to efficiently swipe at the neck of an oncoming Sound ninja.

With their small army of Sound shinobi, they were completely surrounded on all sides, the Sound stretching as far as the eye could see.

Gaara's calm gaze looked on at the endless lengths of the shinobi continuing to move towards them, no second transpired after one fell that he was replaced. "Let me fix that." His emotionless voice sounded more to himself, though his siblings glanced to him as he effortlessly jumped onto a building behind them.

--

Orochimaru's chin slightly tilted up and to the side as he eyed Itachi warily. All amusement relieved from his facial expression.

No moment transpired before the clashing of two kunai echoed throughout the area. Orochimaru jumped back onto another rooftop as Kabuto met Itachi head on – the former Akatsuki member had swiftly appeared before them. The snake sannin didn't waste a single moment before throwing out a scroll, holding on to one end as its lengths unfolded.

Both Itachi and Kabuto jumped away from each other, Kabuto placing himself next to Orochimaru and Itachi descending the long way down from the large rooftop they had been upon. Smoke had immediately flared out in its torrents of clouds, diffusing into all the surrounding area once again. The wind currents were fierce, moving much debris and dirt out with its lengths as it continued to engulf the abandoned part of the Konoha village.

Sasuke swiftly pulled Sakura into him, turning around so that his back was facing the oncoming winds of smoke and debris - Sakura was nestled into his chest and shielded by his body as the wind threatened to push them away; their clothing and locks of hair were flowing madly in the direction the wind forced – and it's currents were so strong that it started to slightly scoot them along the destroyed ground; Sasuke dug his feet into the ground to hold them stationary. Even in his turned position, Sasuke continued to look on over his shoulder, the piercing sound echoing as his Sharingan activated once more.

Naruto put an arm up to shield his face as he slightly bent his knees in opposition to the force of the wind and in attempt to put more weight to the ground before him; he continued to look onwards towards the rushing currents of smoke and debris.

Itachi's hair and cloak thrashed about wildly, though he did not move an inch, his deep Sharingan eyes squinting on in the direction of the currents of smoke and debris; it wasn't long before they transitioned upwards, to look at something as the winds started to subside, as the heavy sounds of rocks and debris falling started to sound the area, the crushing of buildings sounding even louder.

Naruto lowered his arm, and Sasuke looked over his shoulder before standing tall and slightly turning his body, Sakura still against his chest, to face the area in which the large currents of wind had once found their source; all eyes were fixated at an upwards angle as Itachi's was.

The long, high-pitched shriek had sounded long before the vast amounts of smoke had subsided.

--

The intense fighting had paused once again as the second cessation of large tremors and earthquakes rumbled the earth underneath them; all eyes turned to the source, waiting in slight anticipation and worry as the smokes dissipated.

It was the familiar sound of the piercing shriek that accompanied the tremors that turned Gaara's head towards the dissipating smoke a very far distance away – his calm demeanor supporting speculation, slight surprise.

Without a second glance he disappeared from his location.

--

The smoke hadn't even completely dissipated before they had to part, performing various dodge maneuvers to avoid the large appendage-like mass that had shot towards them, retracting as it hit no target. Leaving no moment after, they executed a few jumps backwards to distance themselves, however the attacks did not cease.

They all continued to distance themselves in reign of the continuous attacks. The large, fat appendages that would appear through the dissipating smoke relentless and powerful, as well as unpredictable with their swiftness.

Naruto brought out a kunai, slicing at one as he barely maneuvered his lower body to avoid its reach. As soon as it had retracted another took its place. He clicked his tongue in frustration as he was forced to continue jumping backwards in retreat.  
Itachi who was moving in same length as Naruto and only a few feet distance away had done the same thing, but as well to no avail.

A lone, single outstretched appendage was shooting for Sasuke and Sakura; Sasuke immediately swung Sakura into bridal position and jumped back to narrowly avoid a swipe. He continued jumping back as the same appendage returned, following them in an ambitious pursuit, bending and curving in parallel to Sasuke's movement; he had sliced at it, only for more appendages to sprout around his point of impact.

"Sasuke!" Sakura hollared in warning as a second appendage came from their right, busting through the surrounding buildings.

Sasuke made no sound, his demeanor calm as he abandoned attacking the former appendage and jumped back, now dodging four appendages. He could do nothing without endangering Sakura , and so he was forced to continue jumping back , stern eyes focused on what was following.

**Flashback**

His sandals briefly tapped the next tree branch as he catapulted to another nearby tree – the tree he had been at moments before splintered and crashed to the earth as a large, disfigured appendage swung at it in narrow miss of him. He stayed at the new tree, back up against the wide trunk, Sharingan eyes stern and serious and he alerted his senses to the source of his retreat.

"Come out wherever you are!" Gaara's crazed voice amusingly, hungrily called out to him from his deformed state. Half of his body was of his normal attire and state, however the other half deformed, animal-like in it's sandy color and decrepit markings. The deformed half of his face led foundation to the large black eye, sole pupil detailed with the markings of a unique star, hungry in its freakiness.

Sasuke was forced to jump from his hiding place as another appendage shot out, completely annihilating the large tree from which he was hiding.

**End Flashback**

_It's that..thing.._

Song: Naruto Shippuden OST- 01  
(continue replaying)

When his sandals briefly tapped the ground after a long backwards leap, the Uchiha seemingly disappeared with the increased speed he induced upon himself. When he reappeared, his back was now completely facing the appendages as he was in full sprint. He jumped onto a few nearby roofs, eyes briefly transitioning to the appendages that were coming from all directions, ready to sandwich him and Sakura. The said kunoichi let out a small gasp as it seemed they would hit them. They did not – Sasuke had disappeared with incredible speed, immediately reappearing in the alley that was below them.

Sasuke did not stop as he maneuvered through the tight corridors, running into a very large complex of damaged buildings, swiftly curving through all the streets and narrow passages. Sakura brought her arms to hang loosely around his neck as she maneuvered her upper body to look behind them – it appeared as though they had lost the appendages that followed.

A moment of eerie silence passed, the only sound the rhythm of Sasuke's sandals lightly beating against the intact streets. He continued to run at full speed, making sudden turns that almost seemed unnecessary.

Sakura turned her gaze to Sasuke's calm face, noticing the perspiration that still dotted his forehead, the clenching of his jaw every now and then. Without pause she tightened her hug around him, burying her face into his neck. "I'm sorry." She muttered against him as more guilt seeped into her gut. If he didn't have to carry her he wouldn't have to be running away, tiring himself out more, be in danger.

That's all she was, a burden. Even after all these years.

"Don't be." He responded flatly, however his tone slightly soft. He said nothing else as he dismissed her apology. The young Uchiha made another very sharp turn, bending a knee to sweep his body in the intended direction, and keep a graceful balance while doing so.

The pink-haired kunoichi let out a sigh as she finally lifted her head up, her emerald orbs transitioning to all the tranquility around them, her ears listening to only the light pattering of Sasuke's sandals against the street.

"Did we lose them?" She inquired softly, her facial expression slightly bewildered.

His Sharingan orbs were stern and focused ahead, and he seemed to increase his speed even more – he made another sharp, seemingly unnecessary turn.

"No." Was all he said.

In accordance to his answer and sharp change of direction, a very large rumbling sounded; tremors shook the ground as the tearing and ripping noise of buildings being destroyed echoed around them. One of the appendages had smashed through a building effortlessly, and was behind them once again. Sasuke continued making sharp turns, jumping on roofs and back to the grounds as the paths he would take provided – the lone disfigured appendage right behind him.

They came upon a dead end as the street neared its end; without pause Sasuke jumped in through one of the windows of the buildings next to them. The very large house was in perfect shape, the floors and walls glossy. As his sandals tapped against the hard-wooden floors, a new hollow pattering sounded, inducing a moment of sound harmony. This moment lasted not long as crashing and explosions sounded behind them, the appendage completely destroying an entrance into the house.

Sasuke and Sakura had already made it out of the house through another open window, and onto yet another alley way of maze-like streets. This only lead them to a four way intersection in the paths, where Sasuke made a sudden halt, eyes calmly yet alertly transitioning to all sides as the other appendages finally made an appearance – they had flanked in all directions, zeroing in on them in an ambush. It was too unproportional for him to jump up in one great leap, and the height was an added obstable; they seemed to reach up several times their height. However there was a lone balcony and a few outreaching parts of the buildings that could be used as leverage. He made instant note of this.

"Sakura hold onto me." Without pause or consent he swung Sakura around to his back, not faltering when she almost lost grip, and automatically wrapped her arms around his neck in a choking grip. Before her legs had even finished swinging around Sasuke had leaped upward, grasping a lone window's outward edges before bringing his feet to push against it in another jump towards the balcony on the opposite wall.

The four appendages had barely missed them as they crashed into the intersection, destroying the foundation to the buildings surrounding. However their collision was a somewhat meek one as they instantly combined into one appendage, continuing its curve upwards after Sasuke and Sakura almost gracefully.

The moment Sasuke bore footing on the balcony it was already falling apart from the tremors and collapsing of the building it was attached to, he wasted no time and made one final leap to the top of the crashing building. It was then that he hooked his arms back around Sakura's thighs so that she was piggy-back, and jumped across a few of the roofs, making his way back out to the open area. There they found Itachi and Naruto only a few feet behind him in full sprint as they continued to dodge and somewhat attack following appendages.

There was complete wreckage behind them, all caused in the wake of the disfigured appendages, by the _thing_ still concealed within the dissipating smoke.

They all looked to each other in brief recognition and assessment of health before returning their gazes to what had been occupying them before.

Itachi and Naruto now focused on the appendages in unwavering pursuit of Sasuke and Sakura, their priority of attack changing. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between them as Itachi brought up his hands in a seal continuing his same-path retreat, and Naruto flanked towards the continuously out flowing appendage in pursuit of Sasuke, large shuriken at hand.

Immediately a few of the pursuing appendages followed in pursuit, while some stayed in pursuit of Itachi.

"Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu."

Itachi's chest heaved as he continued to jump backwards before his upper body slightly threw forwards, fire bellowing out of his mouth. It immediately engulfed the appendages after Naruto and those following himself.

There was a large, piercing shriek from behind the curtain of smoke as the appendages retreated. None returned after to replace.

Naruto continued towards the sole appendage remaining and in pursuit of Sasuke. As he neared its straight column, he was caught off guard by more appendages that shot out from its lengths and toward him.

"Kage Buunshin no Jutsu!" Immediately a group of Naruto clones appeared, some taking the brunt of the blow, and the rest jumping towards the appendage and halting its progress after Sasuke in a bear grip. They all let out accompanying grunts as they struggled to hold it stationary.

Naruto dived forward to avoid the part of the appendage that was still able to swing at him, hands briefly tapping the ground before executing next a flip to the side, finishing up in a jump; when he neared landing he brought the large shuriken in a downward powerful swing to the appendage – a slicing sound accompanied yet another large shriek. The last of the appendages took a long retreat back into the haven of the smoke.

Sasuke was finally able to stop along with Naruto and Itachi as they looked back to the dissipating smoke, waiting for it to clear, and reveal their already assumed foe.

There was only a slight pause before a large tremor shook the area.

"You guys!" Sakura hollered out the warning as her wide emerald eyes looked on towards the dissipating smoke. Their eyes followed in transition.

"Chikuso!" Naruto solely cursed as they all had simultaneously turned, all in full sprint away from the dissipating smoke.

The light from the sky that had once been illuminating them began to get engulfed by darkness, a very large shadow reaching towards them, right on their heals. It was caused by the very humongous appendage that was starting to tower over them in the form of a wave, its lengths stretching out the entire width and more of the area they occupied.

The moment the large shadow it created shaded them, the appendage began to fall down towards them in a guaranteed land.

They all stopped as they realized retreating was futile, all eyes focused on it as it loomed over them.

"Damnit, our only choice is to go underground." Naruto's calculated cerulean eyes stern as they transitioned to the pink-haired kunoichi in Sasuke's arms. "Sakura." He seemed to be implying action from her. She merely nodded her head in agreement, ready for Sasuke to release her so that she could pave the way.

"Wait." Itachi said, his eyes still focused on the large appendage as they were. He seemed to have realized something, his tone calm and expecting.

It was then that they all noticed the miniscule particles of sand that were floating all around them, seemingly coming from the ground. A brief moment passed before the particles dashed away from them, all migrating to the area ahead and above them – mass amounts of sand continued coming from all directions and in much larger currents. The growing mass danced about, forming very quickly as its size grew outwards, mimicking the length of the looming appendage before it.

The floating barrier of accumulating sand floated stationary above them, becoming more solid by the second.

All too suddenly the wave-like appendage came crashing down onto the quickly forming barrier of sand, the impact creating very strong currents of wind and a large tremor to everything around it. A few of the nearby buildings were destroyed by both the gushing amount of forced wind, and by the part of the appendage that had made contact with the ground yards away. Much of the sand barrier had been pounded away, exploding out of its stationary state. As it seemed to exploding sand would hit Naruto and the group, it halted, and along with much more elsewhere accumulating sand, returned to fill the large holes that had been created from the impact.

Tremors continued to sound until the falling wave-like appendage finally came to a near halt, the large mass of sand keeping it stationary. There was a sort of croaking sound as the opposing forces had neutralized, the dense sand still slightly shaping underneath the pressure. It didn't seem that the sand would continue to hold the enormous weight and force being applied, as the croaking started getting louder.

Itachi's, Sasuke's, Naruto's, and Sakura's eyes were all focused intensely on the sand barrier that shielded them.

"Amazing." Sakura muttered in awe.

They all glanced to the figure that had appeared in front of them.

Gaara said nothing at first as he wasted no time in bringing his hand up in a seal. Immediately the sand supporting the wave-like appendage shifted; much of the barrier disintegrated, the particles of sand quickly conforming around the now-falling anomaly like a ring.

"Move." Was all Gaara said to them, his attention focused on the task before-hand.

They obeyed, disappearing before reappearing on rooftops safe from the halted forces.

The Kazekage of the Sand himself let a foundation of sand carry him away from underneath the clashing forces, then did a few barely noticeable hand seals before reaching a single hand outwards, clenching it tightly. In accordance to this action, the sand around the large appendage constricted tightly and swiftly, completely severing the massively large appendage from its source.

Smoke burst out from all around as the severed, motionless appendage fell upon a large expanse of area before it, decimating the buildings, flapping out before finally remaining motionless. After the last quake that subsided, all became still.

It was the high, piercing, monstrous laugh of sorts, like that of a giggling raccoon or hyena, that broke the silence.

--

Gaara slowly lowered his hand before letting his emotionless gaze transition to the area of dissipating smoke, as Itachi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto had. The last cloud of debris had finally subsided, revealing the gigantic biju a half mile away – it's size tripling the height of the surrounding forest's trees.

"It's been too long!" The high-pitched sound of the Shikaku's voice was piercing as its echoes rumbled the area. It's lone, immensely large tail slowly moved from side to side. As the biju's raccoon eyes settled on Gaara and Naruto's group, it was unsure to whom, and of what it was referring. However Gaara responded, his eyes cold and stern as the former jinchuuriki looked upon what had once been inside of him.

There was a brief, eerie moment of silence before his lips parted.

"Shukaku." His utterance was almost of a whisper, biting in its cacophonic pronunciation.

--

"Sasuke, I'm fine now. I can stand." She seemed to be in a hurry, tired of burdening him, and in preparation for the biju before them. Sasuke crouched down, allowing her to slowly gain a footing on the ground. After a slight moment of misbalance, she pushed herself away from Sasuke, and stood tall.

As everyone else's, her gaze remained fixated on the raccoon-like beast, however soon followed Sasuke's back as he walked ahead of them. Without a word he stepped up to Gaara's side. They did not spare each other glances.

"I do not need its power again, when I have always had my own." Gaara's cold eyes remained focused on the biju. His words were flat and to the point, implying that Sasuke didn't need to spare its life, seal it inside him once again.

"Aa." Sasuke responded.

Without another word he calmly started walking ahead towards the tailed beast.

Gaara's gaze briefly transitioned to the Uchiha, before traveling to look at his hand - the one with the fabricated markings upon it, a maroon-type color bruising his hand in a seemingly stain, on top rested the black markings. He had noticed this strange anomaly much earlier, and its danger was something he knew all about.

"Uchiha." Sasuke stopped at Gaara's call, looking to him from the corner of his eye. "..Why do you let your life slip away for this village?"

Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets as he returned his gaze to the Shukaku.

"It's not for this village." He started, his stern Sharingan gaze seemingly intensifying. He said nothing in follow to his thesis, having no intention to do so.

Gaara's eyes slightly squinted in speculation, however only momentarily as his eyes glanced behind him to a certain pink-haired kunoichi. He then briefly closed his eyes as he crossed his arms, letting out a small grunt of both amusement and acknowledgement. Sasuke still kept his gaze ahead of them.

"And you?" Sasuke countered.

There was a brief pause as Gaara made his way up to Sasuke's side, his gaze on the Shukaku.

"Like you, for a future."

His answer was broad, at the same time that it was specific. A future was something everyone wanted, no matter what it had in store . They could rebuild whatever they had wanted, eat whatever they had wanted, bewith whoever they had wanted. And _be_, whomever they had wanted. There was room for change, there was room for hope.

A future meant the possibility of everything and anything.

A future meant peace.

"C'mon now! I want to play." The high-pitched, piercing voice of the Shukaku interrupted their thoughts. It's large raccoon body was waiting idly by as it's large tail slammed down onto the ground in proportion to it's regular wave-like movement behind it, signaling to its eagerness to start battle.

Gaara and Sasuke's gazes still remained on the beast as they spoke amongst one another.

"I can use my sand to aid and partially shield you, though it might be a bit slow – neither I nor the sand can predict your movements."

Sasuke slightly nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"And getting close is another matter." Gaara finished.

"That's what we're here for." Naruto's light, yet somewhat stern voice sounded their ears as he, Itachi, and Sakura had already come from behind the two, overhearing Gaara's last words. "We'll take care of the getting in close part."

Both Sasuke and Gaara glanced to them.

--

"Doton: Yomi Numa." Itachi held a single hand up in a seal, his Sharingan gaze focused on the Shukaku.

Soon a very large area starting from a few feet ahead of him warped into what looked to be a very large pit, opaque. As the swamp-like anomaly outstretched towards the Biju, everything in its path started sinking into its limitless depths, slowly dissapearing. Immediately, to accompany the still outstretching pit, particles of sand shot above its lengths in a path that would allow access to the tailed beast. Sasuke and Naruto had shot ahead of Itachi as he stood stationary completing the technique, each of their strides barely supported by the still forming sand path they ran upon.

The Shukaku let out a surprised, piercing shriek as the black hole reached it- its size and its power was too large for it to be swallowed, however it had slightly sunk into the pit, momentarily keeping the immensely large biju stationary. As it looked upon the duo traveling towards it, it immediately took what action was available.

--

Sakura kept her emerald eyes on the battle as she held a blue-glowing hand over her thigh – where her cracked bone was located.

She was a large distance away from them as instructed, however she was in a hurry to heal herself, in anticipation to lend some help.

"Please be careful.." She muttered.

--

"Fuuton Renkuudan!" The beast's stomach briefly enlarged and heaved before a burst of air shot out of its mouth towards Sasuke and Naruto.

Immediately a barrier of sand shot in front of them, taking the brunt of the blow.

In a next attack the Shukaku outstretched its large, deformed arm in a swing towards them.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A countless number of Naruto clones had appeared in front them, already in jump towards the arm that was swinging towards Sasuke and Naruto. They all collided with it, covering the entire arm with their amounts, and causing it to dive down off it's intended course.

Sasuke and Naruto continued past it, jumping onto the same arm, and running along it.

Gaara did a few more hand seals before raising a lone hand up in a seal by his forehead, taking the opportunity that Naruto had provided. A dot of perspiration had fallen in a line along his face as he did.

All of the sand that had once occupied itself as a path above the slowly dissipating swamp-like mass below it had shot up towards the Shukaku's arm. While this was happening, there was a large occurrence of exploding smoke all around its arm, as the Naruto clones were being destroyed by the appendages that must have been shooting upwards from the arm itself.

By the time the last mass of clones had been destroyed, Gaara's sand was encompassing the arm in a constantly moving ring-like circle.

The raccoon-like beast let out a large shriek as half of its arm was severed.

Sasuke and Naruto continued running up along the part of the arm that was still attached, however an obstacle presented itself as a few appendages formed from a part of the Shukaku that was head of them, instantly shooting towards them. The duo glanced towards eachother as they kept on running right towards them.

One last clone appeared next to Naruto, running along with them as it moved its hands quickly in a pattern like movement above the blonde-haired ninja's outstretched hand. A blue, revolving chakra started to form immediately, swirling about like a wind. As soon as it reached the peak of its formation, the Naruto clone disappeared.

It was then that Sasuke jumped to the side, completely off the arm; as he did so a few stray appendages had followed in pursuit. They were stopped as Naruto shoved his Ransegan-filled fist forward into the foundation of the appendages. A large, blue-colored explosion ensued.

--

"Itachi." Sakura called out as she made her way towards him. The said Uchiha had been standing stationary and watching the excursion ensue. He glanced towards her, as she paused at his side. And as if he sensed her eagerness to join the battle, his lips parted.

"It is already over."

--

When it seemed that Sasuke would fall due to the open space he had just jumped towards, a blanket of sand appeared underneath him, stopping him from falling. He was eye level with the Shukaku.

Wasting no moment he reinforced his Sharingan. Time seemed to stop completely.

**Inner Depths**

With each of his casual footfalls, the barren, cracked and extremely arid earth beneath him would moan, result of the various cracks continuing the enlarge with each passing moment; the waterfalls of sand slightly in the distance acted as the adjacent sound to the whistling wind that stirred his raven-colored locks of hair. He kept his hands out of his pockets as he progressed.

He halted in his footsteps when all too suddenly a wave of sand came rushing among the arid earth before him, completely blanketing it with a layer of deep sand. It was then that he bolted from his position, his footsteps causing the sand underneath to almost sizzle with each pounding. His Sharingan gaze focused on the large mass of sand that was a distance before him, an enclosure or sand, boxlike in its shape that rested stationary, outstretching on all sides as far as could see - seemingly hiding something within its depths.

The chirping of birds sounded in tune with zapping as electric currents started to spark around his hand – the one with the unique fabrications among it. He brought his other hand to grasp his upper arm as he continued, supporting the weight and sensation that accompanied the large, staticky ball of chakra that started to form.

As he neared the spherical structure of sand, part of it started to shoot out towards him in spikes. He narrowly dodged them before outhrowing his arm.

"Chidori." His calm voice was nearly drowned out by the chirping sound that accompanied the explosion of sand.

Sasuke stood tall before the large opening that he had blasted into the wall. Complete darkness rested inside, limitless in its area. He placed his hands in his pockets as he stepped him, Sharingan gaze illuminated by the darkness he walked. He was aware of sudden movement that would happen countless times as something seemed to stalk him, prey on him. And he stopped the first moment he caught glance of the star-pupiled eye.

His mark-covered hand shot out before him, a clearly audible noise echoing as his hand clenched onto a the Shukaku's face, its nose denting in and twisting around his single-handed grasp. Its body form was smaller as it had appeared, nearing a size slightly larger than Sasuke's own. It's enlarged eyes represented its surprise and dismay at Sasuke's awareness. The wind had severely picked up, leaving every stitch of Sasuke's clothing and locks of hair to follow in the directing of the currents; the image of the Shukaku was almost ghost-like, appearing as a sort of mist, greatly declining and starting to flare out in all directions, greatly distorting the intact form it had appeared as.

And the piercing sound of the Sharingan echoed throughout the space as the Uchiha reinforced his Sharingan.

**End Inner Depths**

--

Sasuke's landing provided no noise as the soles of his sandals gracefully asserted themselves among the ground – the large swamp-like anomaly had since disappeared, leaving nothing but a barren portion of dirt to accompany the part of the abandoned part of Konoha village that was still intact.

The Shukaku had completely frozen in movement, it's body starting to crack and dry. A few moments past before it's cracked countenance exploded into shards of sand. A large pile of sand was left in its wake.

It was then that Sasuke greatly staggered from his position, bending a knee out before him to catch himself. His chest heaved greatly with each slow and ragged breath, his eyes were slightly squinted with pain.

A paired shadow appeared before him.

--

Naruto had just finished landing on the ground, his surprised cerulean orbs alertly shooting to Sasuke. Orochimaru and Kabuto stood before younger Uchiha.

--

Sasuke's stern Sharingan gaze had shot up to look at the two figures that had appeared before him. He let out a small grunt, and next a scream of pain as a sensation that shot through the Uchiha caused him to fall to his knees - he grasped the area by his neck where the curse seal lay.

"I say it's about time your fun ended, and mine begun, neh, Sasuke-kun?"Orochimaru's, calm, sadistic, anticipating voice sounded his ears as the snake sannin looked at him greedily.

His hand was already held up in a seal.

--

"SASUKE!" The blood-curling scream that ripped from Sakura's throat echoed across the whole area.

Itachi's eyes were wide as he immediately disappeared, sprinting towards Sasuke from his position. It seemed it would be to no avail.

--

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes widened.

* * *

**Thanks For Reading!**

**Ah, finally! Whhooo. Hope you all aren't too angry with me. Sorry for the super long delay! Now that it's summer that shouldn't happen again. At most I'm shooting for two weeks before each new post.**

**But yeah, i made this chapter a wee bit longer to try and accomodate my failure as a writer haha, hope it was ok.**

**Again, I promise that I will finish this story all the way through, despite how long it may take me to update. thanks for the support!**

**Anywhos! Hope ya enjoyed it!**

* * *


	41. Chap 40: This Too, Shall Pass

**A/N: **Thanks for waiting! I decided that I am no longer going to apologize for late updates – not by reason that I'm not deeply regretful and sorry for it , but by the fact that with me – and my busy schedules and impediments, I won't be able to update on a regular basis . It won't stop me from trying, though. The whole process of repeatedly apologizing is getting redundant, and has probably lost all genuinity to you guys, so, yeah. Thank you for sticking with this fic ! And for those of you new comers who luckily just found this and thus have had a long time of READING and not waiting, Welcome to another chapter !

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the Naruto series .. I would hate myself for wanting to own it in the first place. It's a lot of work, developing deep characters.

So, I decided that I'm really gonna start wrapping this story up. I had sorta envisioned a whole lot more plot twists and added things to make it much fuller and more of an actual thing, but, I realized it would take me sooo long to finish this – and that I'd have trouble writing the chapters, I would frustrate myself over how to present my ideas to you – and I just really want to get this done. Sooo ,  
I'm taking Uchiha Madara out of it. Yes, I was going to brilliantly tie him into this story. And tieing him in the story would create a whole plethora of new openings for the characters, scenes, events, endings. But I've decided to abandon that desire. And thus, the entire plot of the story has been drastically changed, and a new path will lead me to a new appropriate ending. Hopefully.

You know me , I write as I go. So we'll see what happens with that.

For a warning, this chapter has a lot of flashbacks, and takes a bit of a different style that that standard that I used. Oh, and a great song to play throughout the course of this chapter would be. ... Naruto OST Shippuden track 11 .

Enjoy !

**Behind the Smile**

**Chapter 40: This Too, Shall Pass**

**--**

**--**

**--**

"I never really thought about how I would die.  
But, going in the place of someone else,  
seems like a pretty good way to go."

--

--

--

"_**What is it that's so hard about living, Sasuke?"**_

"_**..I don't know."**_

To hold his fists closed tight, as if the skin of his palms, the shield of his bloodied knuckles had grown fast to the rocky décor of the broken up street before him – to keep his knees steady, pressed down hard, the pointed rocks in upward thrust against his bone – not to feel that protrusion, not to feel the existence of his body, but only the blunted, unpenetrating pain: the burning, the experience of articulate stabbings against his distal neck, the unbearable sensation of it traveling throughout his body- to feel his body trembling in a long convulsive shudder – the nausea – to feel his stomach trembling, his lungs trembling, laboring for each derisively choked breath – to feel his whole consciousness focused on willing such a honed pressure of pain away – this was as the moment was for Uchiha Sasuke, as he had struggled to suppress the impeding torture that kept him still , that kept him holding grunts of pain in, that left him only to watch as the hand seals were being made before him .

"_**He would take your body just as easily as he would perform a jutsu .. you bear his mark, and that is why."**_

The insignificance one could feel at being able to do nothing in the face of their own death. The agony.

"SASUKE!" He was vaguely aware of the pounding, the numbing vibration of his eardrums against the penetrating sound of hollowed despair – screamed, bellowed – crackling with horror.

**Flashback**

For a long time the only sound was of a pattering ardor: raindrops harmoniously, yet mercilessly tapping against the cabin, letting the earth dance to its euphonic rhythm. The sound was somewhat dulled in the confines of the cabin that stood courageously against the beatings of the elemental torment.

It was dark in the cabin, still, motionless, serene.

There were two persons, held together in the bed resting against the far wall from the cabin's entrance. Intertwined under thin sheets they laid, as they had been for a while. Both were too relaxed, too comfortable, too lazy to move, even to attempt an impossibly closer proximity, closer than the skin to skin to which, minutely, wasn't quite satiating.

Flash

The thunder crackled as she finally transitioned her helpless gaze up to him. Emerald continuously wavered and twitched against the onslaught of pouring rain in an effort to continue her fearful stare.

He stood over her, like that, for a few moments longer before taking her shoulders and roughly pulling her up.

End Flash

Flash

She tried to push him away, her shaking palms planting themselves on the Uchiha's bare, strongly muscled chest as she turned her upper body away, tried to ignore the sparks than ran through her body in result. She had paused in surprise when his hands grabbed hers, holding them there above his heart. It was what brought her surprised gaze to look at their hands before slowly traveling up his soaked countenance to meet his intense gaze - her eyes widened, wavered continuously as what she saw in those depths stunned her, as the strong pattering of his heart moved her. Confused her.

End Flash

Flash

She didn't understand even as his hand moved up to cup her cheek, his thumb feathering along her delicate jawline. His fingertip traveled up her chin to find the satin perfection of her lower lip, stroking it ever so gently, cautiously - hesitantly, as if he were afraid, undecided. She didn't truly understand even as she saw that singular intent in his expression as that same hand slid around to the nape of her neck.

End Flash

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

His voice was the first to break the silence of night, the soothing rumble of his vocal cords tickling the side of her face as she rested it on his bare chest.

The rayed moonlight shining in through the lone window on the other side of the cabin room allowed a luminescent glow – one that colored Sakura's hair a light lavender color, framed her porcelain-like skin in pale colors; it even brought the illusion of sparkle to her eye lashes as they brushed against her upper cheek.

Her eyes remained closed, and she let out a deep, peaceful sigh.

"I'm afraid that if I don't hold onto you like this, that if I don't stay aware of you like this, that you'll disappear. That you'll fade away" There was no tension in her voice, no angst to the reality of what she said. She was calm, willing in presenting her every fear to him.

He responded immediately to what she had said, however it was not in a hurry, but in a calm assurance.

"I won't be gone when you wake up." Tone flat, soft, legit – genuine in that promise.

She smiled into him, as if his words, even though true, weren't meant for the reality in which she thought of, weren't applied to the situation in which she bided her time by. Yet she was thankful for that moment in which he assured her, however it wasn't a presence she was concerned with at the moment, but time.

Her voice was both luring and soft as she continued.

"The longer I stay awake, the longer this moment will last." She said this as she would in describing the weather; there was no hint of despair nor worry. She said it as it was, she said it as was true. She did not seem wary in admitting such a thing to him.

**End Flashback**

In his gaze he was aware of no peripheral vision, aware of no alternate occurrence or presence than that which was before him, than that which threatened him. The wide-stature of his Sharingan gaze only amplified this experience of perception, the inevitability of the imminent end. It was a funny thing, that of all that he could do, he would do the one thing that provided more entertainment to his destroyer, that provided a showcase of his surprise, of his fear at the hand of his death.

"_**Do you not have a reason to live?"**_

"_**No."**_

No, fear wasn't it. He was not accustomed to fear as he looked on to the chakra build up before him – he was not akin to worry as he felt the oddly cold sensation of a chakra seal spreading to the ground underneath him, diseased, unbelonging. He could only inwardly scoff at the brevity that that's what it would be mistaken for: fear in the face of his death. But that couldn't possibly be it. He would know if it was. Death: it wasn't something he feared; and it was because of that, because of that reality that he was perplexed in that moment; because something had changed. He could only wonder why – when this moment: this end, this release, this absolving of any suffering, this peace was what he had spent years waiting for, what he had used to wish for – he didn't want it. He didn't want it anymore.

Why?

**Flashback**

"Why?" He finally said. His tone was completely questioning, as if he was confused.

There was a pause. She had meaningfully looked into his face, studied him, examined the context to which he asked the question. She pondered if it was in his delirium that he sought an answer, or in his heart.

"I'm not afraid to die, Sakura." His voice was still low, weak, echoing of his weakened, pained state.

Sakura continued to look into his eyes, trying to read his expression. Trying not to notice the way his unconscious body shifted, due to his discomfort, sent sparks traveling throughout her body. She tried to ignore the pressure that was threatening to crush her heart. She didn't know what to tell him, how to answer it without begging him to think differently.

"I know." She whispered, her words coming out in one shaky breath.

"I.. I didn't ask you to do anything for me." He said.

"I know." She repeated again, a sad smile making its way to her lips.

"Then why?" His question was absolutely genuine.

When he asked Sakura that question – before he had succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness once again, the pressure and weight of her body to much pain – he had wondered; he had wondered if he was asking her that question – asking her why she sacrificed her health for his, or asking himself: asking himself why he fought to live, why, for what purpose?

He wouldn't have in any other scenario – alone, in his own company, without her.

**End Flashback**

He struggled with the answer in that one moment, even as his gaze slowly raised with Orochimaru's splayed hands. He wondered even as he felt his heart beat racing with an anticipation – the yearning of his body for this release; he wondered as his mind fought his body's urge for surrender, calculated an escape route that was unlikely, impossible. He wondered why his heart beat frantically with a determination that had no motivation, with a trepidation that had no fear.

He knew unconsciously that part of him had come to face Orochimaru in the hopes of such an end – he knew it, and would not deny that; but, the part of him that refused this reason, found another foundation for his being here, contemplated such a thing. And so he wondered why he put himself in a danger that he had no plan on letting ensue. He wondered why he willingly placed himself in this position of imminent doom, but wanted to overcome it, escape it.

"_**Why did you come here? It's dangerous being near Orochimaru, Sasuke." **_

_**"I don't care about that, Sakura." **_

And he found no words, he found no explanation, only an image. Such a thing that resolved his confusion, such a thing that eliminated any doubts. Soft, vibrant, beautiful. Locks of pink-colored hair dancing with the current breeze, attempting a meek covering of the porcelain face beneath it. Shimmering emerald orbs, heart-stopping smile.

And it was in that moment, that he heard the first whisper in his mind.

_Sasuke-kun _

It was that whisperance of an utter, the brushing of butterfly wings against his mind, a soothing that allowed his mind to depart from the impending end before him; it was that call that transitioned his gaze to find her; it was that promise of salvation that allowed him a glimmer of hope.

**Flashback**

"..It wasn't my only goal." He said flatly, though almost with a sort of pondering. He said this as someone who was admitting something would, almost as if he was possibly disappointed. Feeling bereft.

"Oh there was reviving your clan.."

"No." He said this immediately, almost cutting her off. "Not that."

She was actually a bit surprised at his answer. She knew reviving his clan was one of his goals, but it seemed it wasn't as high on the list anymore. It made her wonder why. It also made her wonder what goal could be so high, that it surpassed his want for revival of his clan.

"Then..what?"

**End Flashback**

He wasn't aware of the three comrades rushing towards him and those who sought to destroy him, he wasn't aware of anything but her, he looked at nothing but her.

She was motioning to him, he could feel it. He could feel the sudden warmth butterflying inside of him, the assurance as his gaze met hers – as his Sharingan rested compliant to her glowing pink. She was calm, fooling his earlier belief that the scream only moments earlier had come from her. She beckoned to him with those eyes, commanded him.

Everything halted. His own bodily occurrences hushed. He wasn't aware nor did he care of the prickling sensation of hostile chakra in the form of two large hands beginning to surround him from all sides, attempting to engulf him– it was only brief that he caught the worry from her; such a moment disappeared, was replaced with an induced calm as she seemed to have a purpose for him, as she was determined to do something, as she commanded his full awareness and compliance. She already had it.

Time was still seemingly stopped as his eyes remained unmovingly captive to hers; the glowing steadiness of her pink orbs ushered a tranquility, silenced the pounding of his heart, the chaos of his mind: it left nothing but a focus on her ends. This calm allowed him back his peripheral vision – he had followed in this the movement of her lips – followed in this the soft reverberation throughout his soul. She commanded of him, begged of him something that he wasn't sure he could accomplish.

Doubt and speculation.

"_**Sakura…what you want..It's impossible."**_

Cause and implementation.

_Move_

In was in that beautiful, urgently harsh yet soft whisper of hers within his mind, in the alluring movement of her lips that he received his command. That he received his strength.

And everything started to move again.

"_**One second. That is all he needs, little brother, and he will have you."**_

It all seemed to go in slow motion as they all had come together, and a second had passed before it was over.

Sasuke did not pay attention as two figures appeared next to him, clashing with Orochimaru and Kabuto, he was determinedly focused on his window of opportunity; his gaze was glued to Sakura, perceiving her through the small gap in the hands that were forming, threatening a closing all around him. He only felt the warming pink chakra that had begun to surround him like a second layer of skin, revitalizing him for the task he was to accomplish. For his survival.

"_**You didn't beleive redemption lied for a fool on such a path as you were. But she showed you otherwise, didn't she? "**_

It was in the moment before he miraculously moved - before he took that monumental, excruciatingly painful leap from his grounded position, that he had realized why he didn't want to die. He thought about it as he prepared himself for the added pain of crashing into the broken up ground; he continued reveling over it as he landed softly, the pink chakra surrounding him cushioning the blow. Had the continuing pain of the curse seal and his other agonizing injuries not been so severe, he would have lifted his head to look back at Kakashi and Jiraiya – the ones who had bided part of his escape – as they took to their respective battles with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Had he not been all-focusing on maintaining his labored, ragged breaths, he would have looked up to his brother as the older Uchiha quickly supported him into a standing position – one arm around his torso, placing his own arm over his shoulder; he might have even added more strength to his legs to help support his own dead weight, instead of allowing his near dangling from Itachi's hold.

Had he not been so deliriously exhausted from his depletion of chakra and loss of blood, he might have had the awareness to notice when they reappeared to the one who had truly saved him; he might have sensed her dangerously low-chakra; he might have been able to meet her weary, hysterically-relieved emerald gaze before he fell into a state of stark, opaque unconsciousness. Heck, he might have even been able to tell her the realization that came to mind with his near-death; he might have been able to tell Haruno Sakura that she was the reason.

His reason for living.

----------

"Sakura-san, are you able to get him away from here?" She barely heard him as she desperately gathered Sasuke's unconscious form against her; he rested, cradled within her lap as she hunched over him – there was a desperate air about her hold on him, even as she used her bear hand to wipe the smeared sweat and blood off his forehead. He looked broken, lifeless – she could barely find that low, dwindling pulse of chakra in his core, striving for rejuvenation. She had almost lost him, that was all she thought about as she barely heard Itachi's question, as she fought the dizziness that sought to fuzzy her thinking, hinder her answer.

"Yes," She struggled to transition her exhausted gaze up to Itachi's face; he had just risen from his earlier crouch as he placed Sasuke in Sakura's arms; he kept his unmoving, stern gaze upon her – seemingly aware of her state, in correlation to that of Sasuke's. He respectfully waited for her new words. "But what about you?"

The impending situation seemed to weigh heavily on her heart - it was why she asked that question, when she wouldn't have before. She was worried, and she didn't know why.

"I am of no use to you in helping Sasuke. I can do nothing." Even in his emotionless tone, she could imagine the regret that directed his words, the worry. For some reason she wanted to deny his words, tell him that he could just be there, support him with his presence; he didn't have to donate chakra or know how to heal. She wanted to say there was room for him, in the realm of peace, with them. She didn't know why she didn't.

"I must stay in this vicinity to help destroy Orochimaru . . . although I fear it may not be the last battle I partake in."

Her emerald orbs wavered as she tried to read him, tried to understand what he meant, find out what deep-founded worries influenced his thoughts, the anger. Had Itachi not had as much self-control and perfection of his demeanor as he did, she was sure he'd be trembling with the fury that she knew he harbored – she was sure he'd would be weeping with the sorrow both she and he felt. She had sensed it earlier, and now that sensation seemed to have escalated with what had almost happened to Sasuke. She knew he blamed it on himself.

She watched as he looked to the spot where Naruto appeared next to her, before he had even arrived. It seemed he had been waiting for the blonde-haired ninja before he would take his departure. "Please take him away from here, so that Orochimaru has no chance of coming near him again. If he does, it will all be over. I will do my part in preventing that occurrence."

"So will I," Naruto agreed as he gravely looked to the younger Uchiha. He seemed intending to go with Sakura, and she seemed to have picked up on that. She could see the tension in him, the worry, the agitation, she could feel that he was torn, even as he had determinedly focused himself with hers and Sasuke's protection.

Itachi took one last glance to Sasuke, focusing on the strange markings that covered the younger Uchiha's entire arm. He tore it away as if it were unbearable to look at him any longer. And he looked to her, his gaze to her softer than she had ever seen, nor could imagine.

"I owe you a debt that can never be repaid, Haruno Sakura." He seemed well aware of what she had done to help them retrieve his younger brother from Orochimaru's grasp. "For his life, and for mine."

And then he was gone.

Sakura stared at the spot he had disappeared, her stare unblinking, unmoving. Her briefly wide emerald gaze had defeatedly lessened to a saddened wavering; the sound of her own deep, shaky breath was almost deafening to her.

For some odd, strangely heart-breaking reason, she felt as if those would be the last words she ever heard from him – and she didn't know if it just meant for a long while, or for worse. She didn't know why, and she let herself briefly hope to whatever was good in the world that it wouldn't be true, that she was just too out of it to think right. She had wanted to wish him well – even though this moment, on the surface, didn't seem to call for it; it was deeper than that, on the inside, that she wanted to. Even though the fact that they bore no goodbyes left room for hope of meeting him again, it allowed her no closure, acceptance for the case if she didn't not see him again. And that was just it, this feeling, this sentimentality that came charging at her: it beat at her insides, it choked at her throat.

It was unreasonable.

She was used to fighting reason with reason, emotions with logic, hardship with perseverance. What was she to fight this unreasonable, absurdly sentimental and illogical disturbance with?

Maybe it wasn't just the fact that he had disappeared, maybe it wasn't that she didn't get to tell him to be safe; it was his words, the finality in them. It was much worse than a goodbye. It was a surrender. She interpreted last words to her as his succinct explanation for why he would not go with them to safety. Why he would stay in danger, when he finally had the chance, the choice to choose a freedom. He was a martyr, that's the reality – that was the secret she got from him.

It was the enormity of that feeling, the realization of her intuition, that made her think of the future before them; it broadened the reality of what was going to happen, it pressured the actuality that all their choices from this moment, right now, would be impossible to turn back on.

It made her think of much larger things that what was happening right now. It gave her a painful pinch to her heart as she watched Naruto hesistantly return to a standing position.

Right in that moment, she wanted to cry.

She wanted to cry as she looked back down to Sasuke's motionless figure, his breathing was too slow, soundless, the rising and falling of his chest minutely nonexistent. She wanted to cry as she looked to Naruto's rigid figure, tormented by the decisions he had little time to make.

A large explosion in the distance was large enough to shake the earth around them – for a moment it brought her back to the scenario larger than Sasuke; Konoha was being destroyed, their home would be no more, at a time very soon. She looked to Naruto, who had suddenly clenched his fists, gritted his teeth. His cerulean gaze burned with intensity as he had transitioned it to look in the distance. He was struggling with the acceptance of it all, when he knew that he had the chance to change it.

It was then that she realized she could not ask of him what he was so willing to offer.

She knew she would be gone for a long time, gone from Konoha – whether it stood standing or was destroyed. She had taken her choice between the future of Konoha and of Sasuke's protection, survival - he was her only goal right now, and she was not ashamed of it. But Naruto, he had more responsibility, more to lose with Konoha's destruction. He had more aspirations for their home village than she could ever have.. but, he possibly even had more affection, more love for Sasuke, as a brother, as a best friend, than she might ever compare hers to, than he might ever admit.

She didn't want Naruto to have to choose such a painfully-difficult thing for him as easily as she had.

"Naruto," Her emerald gaze was soft, understanding, decided with finality as she called his gaze back to her.

"_**Saaaaaakuura-chan!"**_

It was in that moment that she felt her deep affection and caring for her own best friend – the one that had been through it all with her. The one who would never leave her side of his own conviction. She wanted to be selfish, she wanted to ask him to come with her, with her and Sasuke, so that they could finally be a trio again - knowing he would. Knowing he would without a second thought. But it was finally time for her to sacrifice, sacrifice for him as he had done so much for her.

**Flashback**

"Let me fight, Naruto." She glanced back at him, putting a small smile on her face. "Let me fight this time."

**End Flashback**

Despite how much she knew he was torn, knew how devastating these options were for him, she saw the moment that he thought to reject the words she was about to say, to stand in opposition to the freedom she was giving him.

She shook her head, a sad smile gracing her lips.

"Konoha needs you, more than I do."

They shared no words a few moments after that. They were both too hesitant and unsure to put words to what they were feeling, what they were fearing. The moment seemed too final for them to support it with farewells, to ensure it with impossible explanations.

The spot where they once resided, in the area of Konoha most destroyed, was vacant. They had left, they had moved forward. They went towards their future hesitantly, but with a determination that did not let them look back to the past. They had already crossed that threshold long ago.

Some would call it denial what they did, avoiding the seemingly truth of what was happening around them. Some would call it cowardice how they avoided the subject of isolation from one another. Some would call it honorable how they left that small emptiness in their hearts for hope, instead of filling it with closure. But they thought of it more as an insurance policy – one that would cover them in their time of need, as long as they put hard work into maintaining it, into keeping their supplier of good faith healthy and untainted with doubt. It was all they could do to prevent them from giving in. From destroying themselves with greif, fear of what the future would bring.

And even if it was denial, at that moment, it felt pretty reassuring.

"_**From here on out, a new path opens for all of us."**_

**Flashback**

Haruno Sakura ran up the large hill with the glee of a child; her sparkling, giddy emerald gaze was pinned on the tree at its peak. It was a cherry blossom tree, it's perfectly white flowers swaying ever so gently with the non-threatening breeze.

"Wow! It's already bloomed so early!" Her excited squeal mentioned the excitement in her heart. She knew the others had heard her, they were still joyously walking up the hill behind her. She turned to face them, watching as they made their way towards her. She threw her arms back in a lock behind her, eyes closed in glee as she showed them the best smile to represent her happy feelings.

Uzumaki Naruto had a goofy, teeth-baring smile on his face in greeting to Sakura's enthusiasm. Uchiha Sasuke had peacefully closed his eyes, letting out an amused grunt; he opened them again to watch as Naruto ran the rest of the way up their teammate, their friend. Kakashi was a little ways behind them all, admiring the tranquility of the moment, enjoying watching the three interact so happily.

"This is going to be our designated tree!" Naruto beamed, placing his closed fists on his hips, his chest triumphantly puffing up towards the tree. "What do you think, Sasuke?"

They both looked to Sasuke, noticing that even he had a slight grin on his face. As usual his hands were in his pockets; and as he closed his eyes yet again, smirking even more, it was an approval of their plan. If it was possible, Sakura smiled even brighter, letting out a small laugh of enjoyment at the news. She was in a good mood that day, she felt she could burst out laughing for no reason, run for miles nonstop, catch butterflies. "Naruto! You brought the camera right?"

"This thing, yeah?" He lazily pulled a contraption out his his pouch by the string, peculiarly looking at it as he held the string with two fingers in front of him. It was almost cute how paid no mind to the electronic stuff. "I have no idea how to work it, though." He scratched his head in puzzlement.

"No worries, sensei is here." Kakashi spoke this whimsically as he took the camera from Naruto. He let his students, lead by Sakura, make their way up the tree before he messed around with a few of the buttons. The timer was set, and he placed it on the grass. Not a moment passed before their sensei reappeared behind his students. He put his two hands behind Sasuke and Naruto's heads, splitting his index and middle finger into "V" shapes.

Meanwhile, Naruto, feeling naughtily playful, leaned over Sakura in an attempt to give Sasuke a quick push to fall of the tree. Before he even accomplished this task, Sakura, annoyed by the fact that he was leaning over her and messing with Sasuke, punched Naruto. It was at that moment that the camera decided to snap.

In the picture, Kakashi was still behind the trio, a huge smile on his face. He had somehow managed to take out his Icha Icha paradise book. Sasuke had his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes closed as he was in the motion of shaking his head in embarrassment. Sakura still had her fist posed, her face scrunched up in an irritated matter, meaning her mouth was wide open as she must have yelled "baka". Naruto was in the motion of reaching out in front of him, as he began to fall backwards.

**End Flashback**

---------------------

With each new explosion introduced to the area, a lone picture, resting in solitude atop a dresser, inched nearer to the edge. It had already collapsed, face down – and it was only a matter of caliber before it no longer remained. It seemed as if it had a life of it's own, as if it were trying with all its might to stay atop to dresser, to stay intact, unscathed.

It was the explosion that blew a hole into the wall behind the dresser that sent the dresser toppling over, and the picture frame catapulting off of it.

It seemed to go in slow motion as the picture frame twirled, it's momentum dangerously hazardous to its impending condition.

When it made contact with the floor, the shattering of the glass sounded with another far away explosion; as the picture frame trembled to a stillness, there were no more explosions.

The picture was of Team Seven; the picture was of three best friends amidst the branches of a blooming Sakura tree. The picture was destroyed.

--------------------

"_**Sakura-chan .. I'll come find you… When this is over I'll find you both, I promise you that."**_

_**

* * *

**_**Thanks For Reading!**

**Yeah, this was more of a filler chapter than anything, didn't get too far in the plot, but it was needed in my opinion.  
So that I could plan how I want this to go, and so that I could satisfy you guys with another update.  
Wishfully it wasn't too confusing or a waste. I was kinda in a weird mood writing this, so it might be a bit out of the box.  
Major focus on sentimentality, neh?  
**

**Ja ne !  
**


End file.
